3 ms·

Well, hey. I don't see my site show up here that often. If anyone's got comments, questions, or suggestions, I'll try to stop by and respond at some point.

jjoonathan 5y ago
Thanks for writing that tutorial, I've referred to it a few times over the years and as far as I'm concerned it's the definitive Lagrange multiplier tutorial. I was able to accurately picture it in my mind's eye before clicking the link to confirm. You've helped a lot of people!
- Steuard 5y ago
  It's genuinely good to hear that it's been appreciated (let alone so much). I owe the milkmaid example to my Calc 3 professor, many years ago, though I later realized that I'd probably altered it a little from his version.
ryan-duve 5y ago
Just want to thank you for the resource! The MS Paint (?) drawing of the river and accompanying explanation got through to me more than all the textbooks that tried to describe the same thing. I hope you find a way to keep it online for many more generations of math learners!
- Steuard 5y ago
  I appreciate the kind words! And yeah, that could have even been MS Paint: it's been a long time, and I was still using Windows a lot back then. (I made the first version of this page for my wife when the topic came up in one of her graduate math courses: I'd had a much better exposure to Lagrange multipliers in my Calc 3 class than she'd had, and since she was studying in another state at the time I wrote it up in HTML instead of on paper.) I've occasionally thought about going back and redrawing those first few images in some better form, but hey: they still get the idea across perfectly well. I have every intention of keeping it online indefinitely, as long as my friends doing the hosting don't get sick of me mooching off their web space.
qubex 5y ago
I remember learning a procedure that involved determinants of hessian matrices. I wish I could remember it. 22 years ago now.

jjoonathan 5y ago

Thanks for writing that tutorial, I've referred to it a few times over the years and as far as I'm concerned it's the definitive Lagrange multiplier tutorial. I was able to accurately picture it in my mind's eye before clicking the link to confirm. You've helped a lot of people!

Steuard 5y ago
It's genuinely good to hear that it's been appreciated (let alone so much). I owe the milkmaid example to my Calc 3 professor, many years ago, though I later realized that I'd probably altered it a little from his version.

ryan-duve 5y ago

Just want to thank you for the resource! The MS Paint (?) drawing of the river and accompanying explanation got through to me more than all the textbooks that tried to describe the same thing. I hope you find a way to keep it online for many more generations of math learners!

Steuard 5y ago
I appreciate the kind words! And yeah, that could have even been MS Paint: it's been a long time, and I was still using Windows a lot back then. (I made the first version of this page for my wife when the topic came up in one of her graduate math courses: I'd had a much better exposure to Lagrange multipliers in my Calc 3 class than she'd had, and since she was studying in another state at the time I wrote it up in HTML instead of on paper.) I've occasionally thought about going back and redrawing those first few images in some better form, but hey: they still get the idea across perfectly well. I have every intention of keeping it online indefinitely, as long as my friends doing the hosting don't get sick of me mooching off their web space.

qubex 5y ago

I remember learning a procedure that involved determinants of hessian matrices. I wish I could remember it. 22 years ago now.