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My calculus teacher tried to talk me out of taking the AP Calculus AB exam because I wasn’t doing that well in his class. “Calculus the Easy Way” which teaches

My calculus teacher tried to talk me out of taking the AP Calculus AB exam because I wasn’t doing that well in his class. “Calculus the Easy Way” which teaches in the setting of a mythical fantasy world where applied problems are solved with calculus unlocked the secret of calculus for me. I ended up scoring a “4” which was a big triumph for me, as it placed me out of taking calculus with all the people who did not want to be taking calculus. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/calculus-the-easy-way-easy-way-series_douglas-downing/305442/#edition=4365096&idiq=3925121 https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/calculus-the-easy-way-easy-way...

marai2 3y ago
Douglas Downing's Trigonometry Made Easy is also a really great book for non-maths people. Same approach of situating Trigonometry in a mythical fantasy land. I remember Trigonometry as a chore of trying to memorize double-angle formulas and such, but this book really helped connect trig in an intuitive way. I didn't know he had a calculus book, I'll have to check it out now.
- varrock 3y ago
  > Douglas Downing's Trigonometry Made Easy is also a really great book for non-maths people. > but this book really helped connect trig in an intuitive way. To me, understanding math in an intuitive way is actually how "maths people" think about math. The numbers and formulas are just a means to an end to get there.