4 ms·

If one wants to learn calculus, I can't recommend Silvanus P. Thompson's Calculus Made Easy enough. It's one of those old (1920's, IIRC) books that gets right

If one wants to learn calculus, I can't recommend Silvanus P. Thompson's Calculus Made Easy enough. It's one of those old (1920's, IIRC) books that gets right down to brass tax, and doesn't clutter your understanding with useless fluff designed to make learning maths "fun". These kinds of books are all too rare.

FranzFerdiNaN 8y ago
This explanation actually reminded me of that book and I suspect it was an inspiration.
snthd 8y ago
Found an html conversion - http://calculusmadeeasy.org/ http://calculusmadeeasy.org/
shawn 8y ago
This was one of the books Feynman used to learn Calculus. The other was Advanced Calculus by Woods: https://libgen.pw/download/book/5a1f04723a044650f5fbaf91 https://libgen.pw/download/book/5a1f04723a044650f5fbaf91
- mmcclellan 8y ago
  I have seen this discussed online several times. Here is a HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14192894 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14192894 that indicates the text Feynman first used was Calculus for the Practical Man by J. E. Thompson. Both are quality texts and as the linked HN thread notes, can be found on archive.org.
  - shawn 8y ago
    My mistake. Thanks!
jaclaz 8y ago
1914 to be picky: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161876 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161876 (link to pdf) A similar one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14178174 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14178174
- herbstein 8y ago
  It's also on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33283/33283-pdf.pdf https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33283/33283-pdf.pdf
ColinWright 8y ago
I couldn't find contact details, so I have to reply here. For reference, the expression is "Brass Tacks": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_down_to_brass_tacks https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_down_to_brass_tacks
cheez 8y ago
Hah! I'm reading this as well, and it's not only hilarious to read, but man, it's so easy.
jnurmine 8y ago
Looked at the web version. Wow, it was nicely and clearly written. Clear, simple, and most importantly to the point. Can someone please recommend more books like this? (The subject matter does not matter much, it is a joy to read such books regardless of actual subject!)

FranzFerdiNaN 8y ago

This explanation actually reminded me of that book and I suspect it was an inspiration.

snthd 8y ago

Found an html conversion - http://calculusmadeeasy.org/ http://calculusmadeeasy.org/

shawn 8y ago

This was one of the books Feynman used to learn Calculus. The other was Advanced Calculus by Woods: https://libgen.pw/download/book/5a1f04723a044650f5fbaf91 https://libgen.pw/download/book/5a1f04723a044650f5fbaf91

mmcclellan 8y ago
I have seen this discussed online several times. Here is a HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14192894 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14192894 that indicates the text Feynman first used was Calculus for the Practical Man by J. E. Thompson. Both are quality texts and as the linked HN thread notes, can be found on archive.org.
- shawn 8y ago
  My mistake. Thanks!

jaclaz 8y ago

1914 to be picky: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161876 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161876 (link to pdf) A similar one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14178174 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14178174

herbstein 8y ago
It's also on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33283/33283-pdf.pdf https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33283/33283-pdf.pdf

ColinWright 8y ago

I couldn't find contact details, so I have to reply here. For reference, the expression is "Brass Tacks": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_down_to_brass_tacks https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_down_to_brass_tacks

cheez 8y ago

Hah! I'm reading this as well, and it's not only hilarious to read, but man, it's so easy.

jnurmine 8y ago

Looked at the web version. Wow, it was nicely and clearly written. Clear, simple, and most importantly to the point. Can someone please recommend more books like this? (The subject matter does not matter much, it is a joy to read such books regardless of actual subject!)