4 ms·

> If your level of mathematical competence is low, plan on raising it, [...] This makes me think for how many people basic math competence remains an obstacle

> If your level of mathematical competence is low, plan on raising it, [...] This makes me think for how many people basic math competence remains an obstacle for getting into science. Shameless plug for my new book about "basic math competence" for adults that think they "suck at math." See extended preview here: https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_preview.pdf https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_previe... The material is similar to the more advanced books on mechanics, calculus, and linear algebra, but contains ONLY the essential material from high school math that is the most practical and useful for day-to-day "quantitative analysis."

alexpetralia 6y ago
This looks really promising. I love the idea of a condensed math book (hopefully a refresher) on all the things I ought to know.
- ivan_ah 6y ago
  Yes, it has been a lot of fun working on these "basics" and double the fun since I was also translating the material to French, which forced me to really dig deeper and explain things properly[1]. I also worked on the concept maps and made them available as a standalone free file, in case that might be of interest to you, see [2]. Last but not least, I highly recommend learning SymPy[3] in parallel with your math review—it's a computer algebra system whose API closely mirrors the math verbs (e.g. expand, factor, simplify, etc), so it makes for great practice tool. [1] https://minireference.com/blog/multilingual-authoring-for-the-win/ https://minireference.com/blog/multilingual-authoring-for-th... [2] https://minireference.com/static/conceptmaps/math_concepts.pdf https://minireference.com/static/conceptmaps/math_concepts.p... [3a] https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_preview.pdf#page=77 https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_previe... [3b] https://minireference.com/static/tutorials/sympy_tutorial.pdf https://minireference.com/static/tutorials/sympy_tutorial.pd... (same as above but in IEEE journal format)
  - alexpetralia 6y ago
    Wonderful, thanks! And I see you're also a McGill grad. Even better!
wewillrule 6y ago
basic math competence is not an obsttacle

alexpetralia 6y ago

This looks really promising. I love the idea of a condensed math book (hopefully a refresher) on all the things I ought to know.

ivan_ah 6y ago
Yes, it has been a lot of fun working on these "basics" and double the fun since I was also translating the material to French, which forced me to really dig deeper and explain things properly[1]. I also worked on the concept maps and made them available as a standalone free file, in case that might be of interest to you, see [2]. Last but not least, I highly recommend learning SymPy[3] in parallel with your math review—it's a computer algebra system whose API closely mirrors the math verbs (e.g. expand, factor, simplify, etc), so it makes for great practice tool. [1] https://minireference.com/blog/multilingual-authoring-for-the-win/ https://minireference.com/blog/multilingual-authoring-for-th... [2] https://minireference.com/static/conceptmaps/math_concepts.pdf https://minireference.com/static/conceptmaps/math_concepts.p... [3a] https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_preview.pdf#page=77 https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSmath_v5_previe... [3b] https://minireference.com/static/tutorials/sympy_tutorial.pdf https://minireference.com/static/tutorials/sympy_tutorial.pd... (same as above but in IEEE journal format)
- alexpetralia 6y ago
  Wonderful, thanks! And I see you're also a McGill grad. Even better!

wewillrule 6y ago

basic math competence is not an obsttacle