3 ms·
There is 3 books listed that essentially cover the freshman (first year) courses in Calculus. And 4 for Linear Algebra. If you work your way through even 2 diff
by sampo 7y ago
There is 3 books listed that essentially cover the freshman (first year) courses in Calculus. And 4 for Linear Algebra. If you work your way through even 2 different books for one topic, you are going to have a broader foundation in the topic than a normal math student in a normal university after completing the corresponding course. And you will have spent much more time, too. University courses don't usually cover everything that is in a textbook. And students don't usually read books through. In fact, students usually try to skim the course notes just enough so that they can solve the weekly problem sets.
There is maybe nothing wrong with being thorough with the elementary topics if you're studying for fun. But if you're studying for applications, I think you should cover the basics only adequately, and then quickly move on to more advanced topics. Basic Calculus is only the foundation, stuff that is actually useful in applications comes later. Basic Linear Algebra can be useful in its own right, but the advanced stuff is even more useful.
I suggest building an adequate foundation, not a comprehensively thorough foundation, and then moving on to the more powerful stuff. Which varies depending on what you actually want to use math for.
- nsainsbury 7y agoTo be clear, I don't at all advocate that people work through all the Calculus books. Likewise for the Linear Algebra books. My aim was to provide alternative options (which are easier, cheaper, etc.)