4 ms·

I had the same problem with math. There are two books which changed my mindset forever: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Mathematics%3F http://en.wikipedia

I had the same problem with math. There are two books which changed my mindset forever: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Mathematics%3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Mathematics%3F http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Mathematics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_Mathematics The first one is the general book about math. It's a classical book. The second one is Donald Knuth's book written specifically for computer science guys.

copperx 12y ago
Does Concrete Mathematics have any practical applications? and by practical, I mean, can you use the knowledge there to learn more math? I have the impression that it is mostly a book that teaches you techniques of how to solve recurrences. Am I wrong?
- hal9000xp 12y ago
  It's not just about recurrences. Although, It looks like this at the first glance. This book will give you mathematical mindset which you will be able to apply in practice (while working with algorithms). Each chapter in the book is written in essay style, authors gave you very curious math pearls, and teach you how to think by using these examples.
- walrus 12y ago
  Concrete Mathematics is essentially the mathematics needed to study analysis of algorithms. From the preface: One of the present authors had embarked on a series of books called The Art of Computer Programming, and in writing the first volume he (DEK) had found that there were mathematical tools missing from his repertoire; the mathematics he needed for a thorough, well-grounded understanding of computer programs was quite different from what he'd learned as a mathematics major in college. So he introduced a new course, teaching what he wished somebody had taught him. So yes, there are practical applications. And recurrences are a recurring theme, but there's more to it than just that.

4 ms·

I had the same problem with math. There are two books which changed my mindset forever: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Mathematics%3F http://en.wikipedia

by hal9000xp 12y ago

copperx 12y ago
Does Concrete Mathematics have any practical applications? and by practical, I mean, can you use the knowledge there to learn more math? I have the impression that it is mostly a book that teaches you techniques of how to solve recurrences. Am I wrong?
- hal9000xp 12y ago
  It's not just about recurrences. Although, It looks like this at the first glance. This book will give you mathematical mindset which you will be able to apply in practice (while working with algorithms). Each chapter in the book is written in essay style, authors gave you very curious math pearls, and teach you how to think by using these examples.
- walrus 12y ago
  Concrete Mathematics is essentially the mathematics needed to study analysis of algorithms. From the preface: One of the present authors had embarked on a series of books called The Art of Computer Programming, and in writing the first volume he (DEK) had found that there were mathematical tools missing from his repertoire; the mathematics he needed for a thorough, well-grounded understanding of computer programs was quite different from what he'd learned as a mathematics major in college. So he introduced a new course, teaching what he wished somebody had taught him. So yes, there are practical applications. And recurrences are a recurring theme, but there's more to it than just that.