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Immersive Linear Algebra (2015)
- whereismyacc 2y agoah sick people from my uni it's pretty messy tbh but it's a good idea
- greymalik 2y agoWhat’s messy about it?
- bbor 2y agoIt’s possible I’m alone in this, but the textbook / vaguely “academic” style of site always comes across as messy to me. That said, I think we’re spoiled by vaporware that invests huge money into style and flashy visuals — as anyone who’s been in school during the Blackboard/Piazza era knows, education software does not have to be pretty to be popular.
- whereismyacc 2y agomaybe the layout just messed up on the resolution I looked at it with, there were boxes all over the place, the spinny thing on the main page scaled out of its bounding box. also I think it would be helpful to have some consistent design cues for which elements are interactive or what you can do with them. if nothing else I feel each interactive canvas should have some kind of description of what you can do with it so you don't have to trial & error
- pimanrules 2y agoI found if I resize my browser window the spinny thing on the landing page starts spinning really fast. I like it :)
- whereismyacc 2y agooh interesting it actually works that way whether you zoom in or out
- dahart 2y agoI tried look at this page on an iPhone, and the figures kept resizing and the page was reflowing whenever I tried interacting with the diagrams, sometimes looking messy. That makes me thing it’s possible the parent was at an odd resolution that does look bad.
- akam4n4n 2y agolooks like the future of education. especially with VR
- lambdaba 2y agoI remember Jaron Lanier describing this vision of learning through VR, where a student in class would "become the triangle" in learning trig, etc.
- bbor 2y agoLooks incredible! All this needs is a little bit of conversational AI magic in the background to filter and modulate the content according to plain-English student questions and its go time. Note that this was finished in 2019, so now would be the perfect time for someone to polish this up and expand it to the rest of math! Assuming this is threeJS, you could get an open-source file format going for simulations, and even host crowdsourced applications of it to existing popular math textbooks by Figure/page #. I mean, linear algebra is cool, but the market for good free geometry education is limitless Does anyone know if the big names in math education offer simulations yet, or is it all animations/images/videos still? EDIT: definitely ThreeJS — love the vector chapter. What this needs is true spatial computing support - not pages with nested simulations, but site-wide (SPA-wide) simulated objects. What if every student in geometry class could have their own simulation on their Chromebook as they read/follow along? I can’t wait.
- fallingsquirrel 2y agoIt really pains me to see someone suggesting adding AI to a book like this. Current AIs are infamously bad at math. The last thing we need is ChatGPT misplacing a minus sign and confusing readers or setting back their understanding by weeks.
- dhosek 2y agoI remember a friend reviewing some math before starting grad school was stymied by a typo in her textbook for an inordinate amount of time. It’s really vital that instructional materials avoid errors as much as humanly possible. AI right now ain’t it.
- veterano 2y ago[flagged]
- veterano 2y ago[flagged]
- ubj 2y agoThis looks like a fantastic resource. After a quick scan, I couldn't find any information on how this book was programmed / created. Does anyone know if a particular framework was used, or if this was all coded by hand?
- ayhanfuat 2y agoLooks like the authors rolled out their own https://immersivemath.com/ila/javascript/samillustration3d.js https://immersivemath.com/ila/javascript/samillustration3d.j...
- smburdick 2y agoMy undergrad math professor created one of the first fully online linear algebra texts: http://linear.ups.edu/html/fcla.html http://linear.ups.edu/html/fcla.html It's integrated with Sage, a Python library for studying (among other things) number theory. Another prof at the same university also wrote his own linear book, using a lot more illustrations, but as a traditional textbook. I see this book as a solid evolution in both directions. Nicely done!
- WillAdams 2y agoVery cool! Does anyone have a list of other similar texts? There's: - Geometry: Joyce's Java version of Euclid's _Elements_: https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.htm... - Physics: https://www.motionmountain.net/ https://www.motionmountain.net/ - Chemistry: The Elements by Theodore Gray https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-by-theodore-gray/id364147847 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-by-theodore-gray/... A nifty thing my kids enjoyed was the website version of the book, _Bembo's Zoo_ (which sadly is no longer on-line: https://soundeffects.fandom.com/wiki/Bembo%27s_Zoo_(Websites) https://soundeffects.fandom.com/wiki/Bembo%27s_Zoo_(Websites... )
- Abishek_Muthian 2y agoHere's a modern version for Euclid's Elements- https://www.c82.net/euclid/ https://www.c82.net/euclid/
- vitalnodo 2y agohttps://schoolyourself.org/ https://schoolyourself.org/ with different ideas about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQIbZa7P80 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQIbZa7P80 Computer-Assisted Instruction http://dmentrard.free.fr/GEOGEBRA/Maths/export4.25/golf.html http://dmentrard.free.fr/GEOGEBRA/Maths/export4.25/golf.html some people manage to create some applets in geogebra https://xenaproject.wordpress.com/2022/07/29/teaching-formalisation-to-mathematics-undergraduates/ https://xenaproject.wordpress.com/2022/07/29/teaching-formal... a way to teach theorem proving maybe I'll remember something else and add it here
- vitalnodo 2y agohttps://explorabl.es/ https://explorabl.es/ https://github.com/blob42/awesome-explorables https://github.com/blob42/awesome-explorables
- akdas 2y agoI started on two resources on different topics. One day, I want you invest a good amount of time into building them out. https://cstheory.avikdas.com/ https://cstheory.avikdas.com/ https://nesdev.avikdas.com/ https://nesdev.avikdas.com/
- teleforce 2y agoPrevious posts on HN: 1) 2015 (78 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10183725 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10183725 2) 2019 (140 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19264048 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19264048
- dang 2y agoThanks! Macroexpanded: Immersive Linear Algebra - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26294588 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26294588 - Feb 2021 (3 comments) Immersive Linear Algebra (2016) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19264048 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19264048 - Feb 2019 (140 comments) Immersive Linear Algebra – textbook with fully interactive figures (2015) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13904881 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13904881 - March 2017 (74 comments) Immersive Linear Algebra – A free interactive online book - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10183725 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10183725 - Sept 2015 (78 comments)
- tunnuz 2y agoI studied physics-based rendering from a book by one of the two authors (T. A-M), and it was written excellently. I'll have a look at this for sure, as I need a refresher every now and again.
- jgalt212 2y agoLove the bootstrap 3. Clean, it works, and embraces the principle of least surprise.
- brnaftr361 2y agoThank God people are moving towards this modality. I have a fervent hatred for textbooks and publishers. The former are antiquated, static, badly formatted, and often ride with distracting garbage in the margin, or worse inline. It makes actually reading them far more difficult than needs be, with unremarkable asides that may span pages and that are easy to get pulled into. While I understand that they have a purpose, they aren't for everyone so having a platform with the dynamism of a webpage is something that I hope will inevitably lend itself to future development along this course. Not to mention being able to have interactive questions that give quick feedback rather than requiring turning through pages to find out if you're on the right track... And this interactive stuff is just an excellent means to drive meaning from terse and difficult to explain systems. Cheers to the folks that put this together, a thousand thanks for the travails you've been through to blaze these trails!
- aaron695 2y ago[dead]
- stared 2y agoSee Seskir et al., "Quantum games and interactive tools for quantum technologies outreach and education", Optical Engineering 61(8), 081809(2022), https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.61.8.081809 https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.61.8.081809 (open access, but if you prefer ArXiv, https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.07756 https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.07756). While it is focused on quantum mechanics & quantum computing, sections 3.2 Science-based Games, and 3.3 Explorable Explanations, discuss this medium (full disclaimer - I am one of the lead authors).
- javajosh 2y agoWould love to see this done with geometric algebra AKA Clifford algebra.
- fuzztester 2y agoThe navigation links at the bottom of the home page are too small on my phone. Maybe a CSS issue ...
- fuzztester 2y agoThe web site says math, but it seems to be only about linear algebra.
- gerdesj 2y agoWhich "subject" would you normally ascribe linear algebra to? It looks like this is a first module within the Immersive math system. No doubt there will be more. Why not look at what is presented rather than what is not?
- fuzztester 2y ago[flagged]
- fuzztester 2y ago[flagged]
- doctorhandshake 2y agoHell yeah. Linear algebra was a hole in my math education and has turned out to be far more relevant to my work than the calculus I spent so much time on. I’ve been teaching myself piecemeal on an as-needed basis but this looks like a great opportunity to finally get a cohesive overview.
- ethanholt1 2y agoI hope that this sets a standard for future textbooks/publications. I haven’t been able to grasp several concepts in math unless I was able to properly visualize it, which most modern textbooks do with a terribly compressed and unsaturated JPG.
- flandish 2y agoI like this. I feel like I’m too old, at 45, to relearn and this may help!
- lupire 2y agoThe biggest barrier to learning is having a real motivating need to learn the thing. Young people aren't as dissolutioned about the uselessness of what they are learning relative to all the demands of adult life. I've learned amazing things when I had a real reason pop pup, after a decade of idly wanting to learn it.
- citizen_friend 2y agoMy gut reaction to this sort of thing is that textbooks work great and have a timeless quality. But with a little more thought, they certainly aren't optimal. Being able to see a video, hear a sound, or play with a figure can be powerful learning. I think my hesitation comes from the fact that this stuff just doesn't seem to have longevity (think educational java applets) and tends to be proprietary (shitty Pearson learning hw). How can we get newer media as robust as text and pngs?
- nutanc 2y agoIt does not have to do with the book or any other medium. It comes from the learner. You are right about the problems mentioned. 1. Stuff does not have longevity. This is because most of the new tools are outside curriculum. This does not encourage students to learn something extra. 2. Proprietary. Books providing add ons have a different goal. They want to sell their books. So the addons or just that. Add ons. They are not complete. These were some of the thoughts which encouraged us to build [1]. Keep it curriculum focused so kids don't learn anything extra. No books to sell :) [1] https://books.innings2.com/ https://books.innings2.com/
- huygens6363 2y agoIf only there was some kind of magic device that has basic input facilities coupled with some kind of simple graphics output. I jest, but I think a very basic computational platform - think 6502-style - with simple graphics could be standardized upon and anointed as universal educational computation base. If you don’t touch the instruction set this can go a long way. The outputs of course need to be universal, but we have some experience with outputting stuff on machines. I think we are able to come to some sort of useable situation. Think PDF or whatever with built-in NES emulator. Is that what you have in mind?
- citizen_friend 2y agoYes. And the latest iteration of JavaScript/canvas has had longevity, but it doesn’t have the robustness of a JPEG. What you describe would be interesting.
- doubloon 2y ago[flagged]
- nutanc 2y agoCool to see stuff like this which makes math fun for everyone. I love stuff like this because it brings together two things I love, math and programming. I mean textbooks are cool. But with the tools available to us we should be able to make almost any textbook interactive. It will need effort, pedagogy, programming skills and design. But it's certainly worth it. Making an effort with this. Started with 6th to 10th grade math. Let's see how this goes.
- hannofcart 2y agoIt's not really a textbook but at this stage, 3Blue1Brown courses almost needs an obligatory mention for how fantastic they are. https://www.3blue1brown.com/ https://www.3blue1brown.com/
- wdh505 2y agoOne critique that glares in my face is "you changed the textbooks via hackers and now my children's development is your fault". These accusations fly when money (e.g. big textbook starts a media campaign) is on the line. As such, these interactive apps need to be able to handle that level of criticism if in a public school (before college). These applications probably need to be client side only enabled and a hash that agrees to the hash of the "approved curriculum" for most parents to think that this might be okay, or a read-only USB rental from the school library that gets verified when it is checked back in. I will not let the government install unknown tech on my computer, but I am willing to download a read only file. I do not want to have my children learning "new math" and be able to point at the technology as the problem "because hackers" or some other BS that has sounds true but has a high amount of effort to disprove coming while chatting with parents at a bus stop or PTA meeting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law
- oivey 2y agoIt’s a web page.
- dahart 2y agoI’ve never seen this particular accusation anywhere, do you have examples? You’re worried that someone will hack a math textbook to teach incorrect math that’s not obviously wrong or obviously hacked, but misleading and damaging to math education somehow? Or what kind of threat exactly are you imagining? Who’s got a secret plan to corrupt math education, and how does that work when math involves exercises and proofs? Brandolini’s Law certainly finds application in politics, but it’s news to me if anyone has ever taken the time to intentionally develop fake but believable academic curricula. Why would someone go to that level of effort, what would be the political agenda, and what makes you think it would get very far without getting caught and taken down?
- wdh505 2y agoI don't necessarily think that math is where this critique is the strongest. As you say, this happens most in political arguments, and this critique is strongest when talking about history books. I listened to a rant about this once and I think it is adjacent enough to be relevant as a critique here: While I attended a church in a different state, the Sunday school teacher decided to get on a talking point aka rant about how history books are going to be changed via an opaque technology process to save kids backs from heavy textbooks and this was the BIG BAD. The entire topic kinda blindsided me at the time as I was leaning toward khan academy and other progressive teaching techniques at the time. (Still do, but i have had a number of bad experiences with subscription models for knowledge that is a prerequisite for certain jobs). I bet that math textbooks are the more exact science, so it will probably pass over well, but some people (conservatives who don't trust change) will probably mount resistance if not addressed. I just wanted to say that there are two sides (monetary incentives) to the question "should we adopt", and it directly shapes the narrative (and may cause a narrative to change into a political one). Regarding "never heard of deliberately fake curriculum", i agree that i havent seen a deliberately fake math curriculum, but i have seen a number of "montressouri schools" that have no credentials and have not updated based on science for years. Most "charter schools" have a similar standard.
- Omnipresent 2y agoAre there such immersive math courses geared more towards middle / high schoolers?
- nextworddev 2y agoFeel like a treatment of SVD is a must for an entry level Linear Algebra course
- the-mitr 2y agoA naive question: I see that they are using mathjax for the displaying mathematics content. But what are they using to create the interactive diagrams?