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>> if you really wanted to learn this material, then you would have started already This is pretty much the only statement i have an objection or reaction to.

by doktrin 14y ago

>> if you really wanted to learn this material, then you would have started already This is pretty much the only statement i have an objection or reaction to. I simply don't understand the basis for assertions along these lines. These sorts of fatalistic proclamations are made not-infrequently in the context of programming and development as well. Its as if we feel that the only ones worthy of pursuing a given discipline are those who realized their passion and interest early in life. Why the exclusivity? This is just knowledge, after all.

SandB0x 14y ago
I agree with your sentiment. Sometimes we get articles on (say) the Fourier transform, with its own intuitive take on how and why it works, some visualisation and some maths. I think these articles are great. I can understand how they would spark the interest of someone who is not familiar with the maths, whatever their age. That's not the case here. I don't think that anyone who has upvoted this has read any significant part of the document, simply because it would take months if not years to go through. It's like me posting a several-hundred page set of homemade notes on cell biology and saying "Notes to take you to medical school level biology".
- doktrin 14y ago
  Fair. I happen to agree that the document is probably not going to be of much use to anyone who hasn't already studied the material. I do, however, firmly believe that anyone - no matter their age - may find interest and cause to learn math, even if starting with high school calculus.
ams6110 14y ago
This kind of mathematics is at a level that requires a certain amount of self-motivation, passion, desire, whatever you want to call it, to learn. It's probably something you're born with, which is why not many people pursue graduate studies in mathematics and those who do are mostly people with a real love for it. It's unlikely that at some point in your adult life you're going to suddenly develop the necessary burning desire to motivate such study on the basis of a set of notes someone posted on the internet.
- doktrin 14y ago
  >> It's probably something you're born with What are you basing this claim on? >> It's unlikely that at some point in your adult life you're going to suddenly develop the necessary burning desire to motivate such study While it's true that adults are not likely to re-enroll in University to study mathematics, that doesn't necessarily mean the desire isn't there. For instance, a "burning" desire may be sufficient to motivate a 22 year old to study mathematics, however that same desire in a 44 year old might not overcome the pressures, realities and obligations of life, work & family.
  - alexkus 14y ago
    > For instance, a "burning" desire may be sufficient to motivate a 22 year old to study mathematics, however that same desire in a 44 year old might not overcome the pressures, realities and obligations of life, work & family. You'd be surprised at how many there are. I'm mid-30s and I've recently finished a maths degree via distance learning (Open University in the UK). During the time I've been studying I've moved house, got married, had increased work pressures, become a father and I am helping bootstrap a startup in what little free time is left from all of that. At the various tutorials, revision day schools and exams during my studies I met lots of others who were in similar positions. It's more common than you think.
    - Vivtek 14y ago
      So you're actually proving the point: you weren't born with this burning desire, you didn't learn it in college or high school or (as burning desire would indicate) when you were twelve - you waited until now, and were perfectly capable of learning it once your motivations changed. As they do, as time passes. Anybody out of their 20s will know that.
      - alexkus 14y ago
        I had a desire to study it since I was young. I excelled at both Comp Sci and Maths during school[1]. Studied both all the way prior to University and then had to pick one (I didn't want to do a joint degree as I wanted to study one in depth rather than two partially). A Comp Sci degree was going to be a bigger advantage for the kind of job I was looking for and so that won. The desire to study Maths has always been there, it's just taken a while since leaving University until I was in a position where I had the time/money to study it in my spare time. [1] First computer was a ZX81 when I was just 5 years' old.

by doktrin 14y ago

SandB0x 14y ago

I agree with your sentiment. Sometimes we get articles on (say) the Fourier transform, with its own intuitive take on how and why it works, some visualisation and some maths. I think these articles are great. I can understand how they would spark the interest of someone who is not familiar with the maths, whatever their age. That's not the case here. I don't think that anyone who has upvoted this has read any significant part of the document, simply because it would take months if not years to go through. It's like me posting a several-hundred page set of homemade notes on cell biology and saying "Notes to take you to medical school level biology".

doktrin 14y ago
Fair. I happen to agree that the document is probably not going to be of much use to anyone who hasn't already studied the material. I do, however, firmly believe that anyone - no matter their age - may find interest and cause to learn math, even if starting with high school calculus.

ams6110 14y ago

This kind of mathematics is at a level that requires a certain amount of self-motivation, passion, desire, whatever you want to call it, to learn. It's probably something you're born with, which is why not many people pursue graduate studies in mathematics and those who do are mostly people with a real love for it. It's unlikely that at some point in your adult life you're going to suddenly develop the necessary burning desire to motivate such study on the basis of a set of notes someone posted on the internet.

doktrin 14y ago
>> It's probably something you're born with What are you basing this claim on? >> It's unlikely that at some point in your adult life you're going to suddenly develop the necessary burning desire to motivate such study While it's true that adults are not likely to re-enroll in University to study mathematics, that doesn't necessarily mean the desire isn't there. For instance, a "burning" desire may be sufficient to motivate a 22 year old to study mathematics, however that same desire in a 44 year old might not overcome the pressures, realities and obligations of life, work & family.
- alexkus 14y ago
  > For instance, a "burning" desire may be sufficient to motivate a 22 year old to study mathematics, however that same desire in a 44 year old might not overcome the pressures, realities and obligations of life, work & family. You'd be surprised at how many there are. I'm mid-30s and I've recently finished a maths degree via distance learning (Open University in the UK). During the time I've been studying I've moved house, got married, had increased work pressures, become a father and I am helping bootstrap a startup in what little free time is left from all of that. At the various tutorials, revision day schools and exams during my studies I met lots of others who were in similar positions. It's more common than you think.
  - Vivtek 14y ago
    So you're actually proving the point: you weren't born with this burning desire, you didn't learn it in college or high school or (as burning desire would indicate) when you were twelve - you waited until now, and were perfectly capable of learning it once your motivations changed. As they do, as time passes. Anybody out of their 20s will know that.
    - alexkus 14y ago
      I had a desire to study it since I was young. I excelled at both Comp Sci and Maths during school[1]. Studied both all the way prior to University and then had to pick one (I didn't want to do a joint degree as I wanted to study one in depth rather than two partially). A Comp Sci degree was going to be a bigger advantage for the kind of job I was looking for and so that won. The desire to study Maths has always been there, it's just taken a while since leaving University until I was in a position where I had the time/money to study it in my spare time. [1] First computer was a ZX81 when I was just 5 years' old.