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This echoes my own experience. I made an attempt at andrew Ng's revised machine learning course last year. I could understand well enough at a high level how gr

This echoes my own experience. I made an attempt at andrew Ng's revised machine learning course last year. I could understand well enough at a high level how gradient descent worked but its been 20 years since I did any calculus and the level to which my ability to even do algebra had atrophied greatly. To their credit, they derive the equations for you but I did't see how I was going to be able to really apply any of what I learned when the caclulus "handwaiving" is probably the most crucial step. I'm a fulltime CTO so finding textbooks that can fill in the gaps and finding endless problem sets to solve was just not going to work. Luckiy, A good friend of mind from hack reactor clued me in to mathacademy. I would argue thats its probably one of the biggest underated resources for getting back in mathematical shape. I've been setting aside an hour a day to just grind through the lessons and problem sets that it throws at me. it uses spaced repetition along with an inital placement test to figure out what you're weak at and just hits you with those problems as you improve. echoing the sentiment in the article, you'll get better just grinding though different problem sets consistently each day with the occasional metaphorical boss battle. Once you realize that, actually getting better at math is more of a logistical challenge (having to track down skill appropriate problems to cut your teeth on) Mathacademy basically automates that completely for you. I've gone from giving up on ever getting into this machine learnign stuff to looking forward to spending next year taking on deep learning. PS: not paid by mathacademy.com. just an incredibly pleased custoner Also PS: didn't realize you worked at math academy. any plans on expanding into physics problems? would LOVE these ideas to delve back into phsyics. (especially circuits.)

gabrielsroka 2y ago
The OP is Chief quant at mathacademy.com
- cultofmetatron 2y ago
  omg.. that explains a lot.
JustinSkycak 2y ago
Wow! Love running into MA users. Your comment totally made my day. Thanks for the kind words and I'm so happy that the system is working out for you. After all the work we've put into building this thing, it's the best feeling ever to hear about positive impact it's having on people's lives. > any plans on expanding into physics problems? would LOVE these ideas to delve back into phsyics. (especially circuits.) Our grand plan is to completely fill out out math courses, then expand to other related fields such as computer science and physics.
- Booleans 2y ago
  I've been wanting to read books like Algorithms for Optimization (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262039427/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262039427/) and Probabilistic Machine Learning (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262046822/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262046822/) but when I open them up I immediately think "wow I really need to refresh my calculus because I have no idea what's going on." It sounds like I should look into Math Academy for relearning old Calculus and learning some new stuff as well.
  - JustinSkycak 2y ago
    Definitely! Three things I'd like to bring to your attention, that are particularly relevant to your situation: 1. Our Mathematics for Machine Learning course: https://www.mathacademy.com/courses/mathematics-for-machine-learning https://www.mathacademy.com/courses/mathematics-for-machine-... 2. We designed a Mathematical Foundations course sequence specifically for adults who want to get up to speed or relearn math skills they have forgotten as preparation for Mathematics for Machine Learning and other university math courses. More info here: https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students. 3. When you start on the system we assess not only your knowledge of the course you're placing into, but also lower-level foundational topics. If we detect that you have any gaps in your foundations (most learners do, especially adults who have been out of the game for a while), then we'll automatically add them to your learning plan and make sure you learn them before we give you any more advanced topics that depend on them. More info here: https://www.mathacademy.com/how-our-ai-works#diagnostic-algorithm https://www.mathacademy.com/how-our-ai-works#diagnostic-algo...
amun_dev 2y ago
I signed up for mathacademy and I'm extremely overwhelmed by the courses. I'm not exactly sure what course I am supposed to start with. I went with Linear Algebra and I'm going through the diagnostics but I'm struggling with all the questions so far.
- JustinSkycak 2y ago
  Hey! So, sometimes adult learners sign up for a university-level math class not realizing how serious our courses are or how much foundational knowledge is necessary (or how much of it they never actually learned during school, or how much of it they've forgotten since then). That's totally fine and all it means is you may need to start off in a lower course to shore up your missing foundations [1]. There have been so many people in this situation that we actually designed a Mathematical Foundations course sequence specifically for adults who want to get up to speed or relearn math skills they have forgotten (from fractions through calculus) as preparation for upper-level university math courses. More info here: https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students. Please do let me know if you have any follow-up questions about that or if anything is unclear. I'm always happy to chat with people who are serious about learning math. --- Footnotes [1] Note that we do check for missing foundations during diagnostics, and any that we find we'll add to your learning plan -- but currently there's a limit to how far we look back. For Linear Algebra, we only look back to the beginning of Algebra 2. So if you're rusty on any Algebra 1 stuff -- factoring, quadratic equations, systems of linear equations, etc. -- or arithmetic stuff like working with fractions/exponents, then you'll need to drop back to a lower course to shore up those foundations.
  - amun_dev 2y ago
    That makes sense, I'll try out Mathematical Foundations I and go from there.
    - JustinSkycak 2y ago
      Sounds like a plan! If you run into any issues at all, feel free to ping me on X/Twitter (https://x.com/justinskycak https://x.com/justinskycak) or shoot me an email (justin@mathacademy.com). The first piece of the puzzle to learning math is just getting on the rails at the appropriate level and I want to make sure we help you get over that hump.
throwaway81523 2y ago
Why not work with a tutor? Also I found the fast.ai videos good for explaining stuff like gradient descent. I don't see spaced repetition being useful for theoretical math though maybe it is ok for calculation. Main thing as you say is grind out problem sets, and that's more a question of logistics and motivation than finding the right textbook. I've always been skeptical of sites like mathacademy but I'll take a look at it.
- cultofmetatron 2y ago
  I had considered working with a tutor. but honestly, its not hard to understand math from the textbooks. The main value of the tutor is that they figure out what you're weak at. however cost and time come into the equation. with a tutor, you have to plan ahead. you also can't have a tutor by your side everytime you practice math. > I don't see spaced repetition being useful for theoretical math though maybe it is ok for calculation. what Ive learned over the years over multiple disciplines is that really understanding theory is built on a strong intuition and a strong intuition is built on LOTS of practice. if you're solving the problem a lot, you are engaging with it on multiple levels which is going to force your brain to understand it on a level you will simply not get from simply watching a video on the subject. In much the same way that watching a video on react does not make you a web developer.
  - fn-mote 2y ago
    A tutor can give you an opinionated approach to a subject. They can offer you what they believe are the best (well, good) references. They can give you intuitive explanations for why things are true - the kind of explanation that is missing in a typical “rigorous” book. They can tell you what lines make sense to explore at your level and what things you should save wondering about for later. A tutor is another name for a professor, if you expect enough. Studying statistics / ML, I absolutely found that there were “truths” from the text that I would try to prove with simulations and … couldn’t really reproduce. Having somebody tell you that “that chapter is good but those particular statements are controversial / wrong / not exactly saying what you think they are saying” is really valuable. In the end, my opinion is that if you find it easy to learn from a text, probing the boundaries of your understanding could be good. Some stuff is easy. Other stuff just sounds easy but there is a deeper understanding to acquire.
sonabinu 2y ago
I take classes at community college to up/revise skills in foundational mathematics. What I love is the small class sizes, the presence of adult students and the teacher engagement. This alongside the need to finish hw, keeps me on track

gabrielsroka 2y ago

The OP is Chief quant at mathacademy.com

cultofmetatron 2y ago
omg.. that explains a lot.

JustinSkycak 2y ago

Wow! Love running into MA users. Your comment totally made my day. Thanks for the kind words and I'm so happy that the system is working out for you. After all the work we've put into building this thing, it's the best feeling ever to hear about positive impact it's having on people's lives. > any plans on expanding into physics problems? would LOVE these ideas to delve back into phsyics. (especially circuits.) Our grand plan is to completely fill out out math courses, then expand to other related fields such as computer science and physics.

Booleans 2y ago
I've been wanting to read books like Algorithms for Optimization (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262039427/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262039427/) and Probabilistic Machine Learning (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262046822/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262046822/) but when I open them up I immediately think "wow I really need to refresh my calculus because I have no idea what's going on." It sounds like I should look into Math Academy for relearning old Calculus and learning some new stuff as well.
- JustinSkycak 2y ago
  Definitely! Three things I'd like to bring to your attention, that are particularly relevant to your situation: 1. Our Mathematics for Machine Learning course: https://www.mathacademy.com/courses/mathematics-for-machine-learning https://www.mathacademy.com/courses/mathematics-for-machine-... 2. We designed a Mathematical Foundations course sequence specifically for adults who want to get up to speed or relearn math skills they have forgotten as preparation for Mathematics for Machine Learning and other university math courses. More info here: https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students. 3. When you start on the system we assess not only your knowledge of the course you're placing into, but also lower-level foundational topics. If we detect that you have any gaps in your foundations (most learners do, especially adults who have been out of the game for a while), then we'll automatically add them to your learning plan and make sure you learn them before we give you any more advanced topics that depend on them. More info here: https://www.mathacademy.com/how-our-ai-works#diagnostic-algorithm https://www.mathacademy.com/how-our-ai-works#diagnostic-algo...

amun_dev 2y ago

I signed up for mathacademy and I'm extremely overwhelmed by the courses. I'm not exactly sure what course I am supposed to start with. I went with Linear Algebra and I'm going through the diagnostics but I'm struggling with all the questions so far.

JustinSkycak 2y ago
Hey! So, sometimes adult learners sign up for a university-level math class not realizing how serious our courses are or how much foundational knowledge is necessary (or how much of it they never actually learned during school, or how much of it they've forgotten since then). That's totally fine and all it means is you may need to start off in a lower course to shore up your missing foundations [1]. There have been so many people in this situation that we actually designed a Mathematical Foundations course sequence specifically for adults who want to get up to speed or relearn math skills they have forgotten (from fractions through calculus) as preparation for upper-level university math courses. More info here: https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students https://www.mathacademy.com/adult-students. Please do let me know if you have any follow-up questions about that or if anything is unclear. I'm always happy to chat with people who are serious about learning math. --- Footnotes [1] Note that we do check for missing foundations during diagnostics, and any that we find we'll add to your learning plan -- but currently there's a limit to how far we look back. For Linear Algebra, we only look back to the beginning of Algebra 2. So if you're rusty on any Algebra 1 stuff -- factoring, quadratic equations, systems of linear equations, etc. -- or arithmetic stuff like working with fractions/exponents, then you'll need to drop back to a lower course to shore up those foundations.
- amun_dev 2y ago
  That makes sense, I'll try out Mathematical Foundations I and go from there.
  - JustinSkycak 2y ago
    Sounds like a plan! If you run into any issues at all, feel free to ping me on X/Twitter (https://x.com/justinskycak https://x.com/justinskycak) or shoot me an email (justin@mathacademy.com). The first piece of the puzzle to learning math is just getting on the rails at the appropriate level and I want to make sure we help you get over that hump.

throwaway81523 2y ago

Why not work with a tutor? Also I found the fast.ai videos good for explaining stuff like gradient descent. I don't see spaced repetition being useful for theoretical math though maybe it is ok for calculation. Main thing as you say is grind out problem sets, and that's more a question of logistics and motivation than finding the right textbook. I've always been skeptical of sites like mathacademy but I'll take a look at it.

cultofmetatron 2y ago
I had considered working with a tutor. but honestly, its not hard to understand math from the textbooks. The main value of the tutor is that they figure out what you're weak at. however cost and time come into the equation. with a tutor, you have to plan ahead. you also can't have a tutor by your side everytime you practice math. > I don't see spaced repetition being useful for theoretical math though maybe it is ok for calculation. what Ive learned over the years over multiple disciplines is that really understanding theory is built on a strong intuition and a strong intuition is built on LOTS of practice. if you're solving the problem a lot, you are engaging with it on multiple levels which is going to force your brain to understand it on a level you will simply not get from simply watching a video on the subject. In much the same way that watching a video on react does not make you a web developer.
- fn-mote 2y ago
  A tutor can give you an opinionated approach to a subject. They can offer you what they believe are the best (well, good) references. They can give you intuitive explanations for why things are true - the kind of explanation that is missing in a typical “rigorous” book. They can tell you what lines make sense to explore at your level and what things you should save wondering about for later. A tutor is another name for a professor, if you expect enough. Studying statistics / ML, I absolutely found that there were “truths” from the text that I would try to prove with simulations and … couldn’t really reproduce. Having somebody tell you that “that chapter is good but those particular statements are controversial / wrong / not exactly saying what you think they are saying” is really valuable. In the end, my opinion is that if you find it easy to learn from a text, probing the boundaries of your understanding could be good. Some stuff is easy. Other stuff just sounds easy but there is a deeper understanding to acquire.

sonabinu 2y ago

I take classes at community college to up/revise skills in foundational mathematics. What I love is the small class sizes, the presence of adult students and the teacher engagement. This alongside the need to finish hw, keeps me on track