4 ms·

> older textbooks have been much more accessible than most written after (roughly) the 1990s Explain?

ericbarrett 5y ago
I don't have an explanation; it's entirely empirical/anecdotal. And there are certainly exceptions in both directions, e.g. I have a 1978 textbook on linear algebra that never mentions the relationship between matrix determinants and area. Overall what I've found is that older textbooks (edit: not just math) are more likely to (1) explain concepts in smaller steps; (2) not bury them in symbols and abstractions; (3) introduce and explain physical intuitions for subjects when they are relevant.
- spc476 5y ago
  One book I found that was incredible was _Mathematics for the Million_ (3rd edition, from 1951) that's part mathematics book, part history book. It goes over the history of mathematics from ancient Egypt going forward, showing how only how math works (geometry, trig, algebra, the calculus) but how it was discovered and evolved over time.
- GeorgeTirebiter 5y ago
  I think it's just familiarity. Those are the books where you learned the stuff. So their way (style) is 'what you have been programmed to like'. to learn anything, so you can teach it to somebody else (the REAL def of Learning I'd say), you have to Do The Exercises. ---- I recently went over one of my older books on Matrices and it was a curious mix of trying to be sort-of precise, with trying to bring the 'wonder' and 'magic' of the concepts to life early -- so as to maintain reader interest. Ultimately, it was the way of thinking (mathematically) that was mostly taught; the 'matrix intro' was just fodder to support the pedagogy!
  - ericbarrett 5y ago
    Most of the advanced math I learned used textbooks from the early 2000s era, which were often junk; this was the beginning of the "new book every year" phase of universities, one which they seem to have never left. (What I did retain was usually taught by lectures or compassionate fellow students.) My multivariable calculus book was recalled by the publisher mid-semester! One of the more talented kids got so pissed off at its quality that he went through the whole thing and ended up finding several hundred calculation errors in it (not typos or typesetting).

I don't have an explanation; it's entirely empirical/anecdotal. And there are certainly exceptions in both directions, e.g. I have a 1978 textbook on linear algebra that never mentions the relationship between matrix determinants and area. Overall what I've found is that older textbooks (edit: not just math) are more likely to (1) explain concepts in smaller steps; (2) not bury them in symbols and abstractions; (3) introduce and explain physical intuitions for subjects when they are relevant.

spc476 5y ago
One book I found that was incredible was _Mathematics for the Million_ (3rd edition, from 1951) that's part mathematics book, part history book. It goes over the history of mathematics from ancient Egypt going forward, showing how only how math works (geometry, trig, algebra, the calculus) but how it was discovered and evolved over time.
GeorgeTirebiter 5y ago
I think it's just familiarity. Those are the books where you learned the stuff. So their way (style) is 'what you have been programmed to like'. to learn anything, so you can teach it to somebody else (the REAL def of Learning I'd say), you have to Do The Exercises. ---- I recently went over one of my older books on Matrices and it was a curious mix of trying to be sort-of precise, with trying to bring the 'wonder' and 'magic' of the concepts to life early -- so as to maintain reader interest. Ultimately, it was the way of thinking (mathematically) that was mostly taught; the 'matrix intro' was just fodder to support the pedagogy!
- ericbarrett 5y ago
  Most of the advanced math I learned used textbooks from the early 2000s era, which were often junk; this was the beginning of the "new book every year" phase of universities, one which they seem to have never left. (What I did retain was usually taught by lectures or compassionate fellow students.) My multivariable calculus book was recalled by the publisher mid-semester! One of the more talented kids got so pissed off at its quality that he went through the whole thing and ended up finding several hundred calculation errors in it (not typos or typesetting).