I'm a programmer but I'm not very good at maths. My solid foundation is maybe middle school level and then patchy highschool level (I switched schools a lot, leaving gaps).
What's the best way to add to my shitty maths skills?
I'm a programmer but I'm not very good at maths...
Gavin Edwards
Isaiah Lewis
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Ryan Foster
what book :( I'd like to learn in English but I'm not a native English speaker so I have no diea what books you guys used in schools or to learn.
Nolan Lewis
text books are expensive, but there are used textbook repositories you could buy one from.
Thomas Long
While a wonderful source that I'll use to buy books, I'd still not know what books to buy. Any recommendations?
Also is Khan Academy any good? ( don't shoot me )
Eli Hill
Khanacademy for mathematics is recommended.
Jeremiah Parker
I was going to recomend khan academy, for your level seems like one of the best options. Just dont loose too much time "grinding" stuff you already know.
Nolan Gutierrez
Well with all the gaps I feel like I should just do, I don't know, 7th grade to the end of highschool all over again without skipping. Just so I have a coherent basis no?
Angel Murphy
You're probably going to want to start with a high school algebra textbook and move on to pre-cal
Joseph Hall
That's useful info, thanks.
Henry Cruz
for the easy stuff highly recommended , getting up there you have to make sure you know what's behind
Connor Baker
This. Just do everything.
Luis Sanchez
Khan Academy is a good supplement, but I wouldn't use it as your main source of information because that's not really what it's trying to be.
Owen Brooks
Here's a high school Algebra textbook I found online.
sites.google.com
Charles Russell
thank you friend.
Fair enough, will need more book recommendations then.
Matthew Hill
How patchy is patchy? If you're really patchy then have a look at a high school text book for 15 year olds
If it's too easy, or you know it all, have a look at a book for 16 year olds, and keep going up
Honestly if I were you I'd head to the closest university library, and ask for any books on the list for first year maths courses
Most universities offer bridging maths courses, and they will have text books picked out for people just like you
There's really no difference between high school maths books and university maths books, only the topics covered, although there are some university level maths books that are 'hard' because they are written either badly, or with advanced students in mind
Knowing hard maths isn't necessary to be a good programmer, you need to be able to think and problem solve mathematically, but you don't need to go crazy learning analysis and abstract algebra
That said, it's kinda worth knowing some stuff if you work in a technical sector, it'll help you speak the same language as the people you work with
Useful subjects include lnear algebra, computational methods, discrete maths, and maybe some calculus including differential equations
Isaac Foster
Be honest, how bad are you?
It's pretty hard to give recommends if we don't know your rough level.
Maybe come up with an example of a question that you would consider challenging, and then we would have a better idea of where to point you.
Don't pay attention to all these idiots saying stuff like "don't spend too much time grinding the stuff you already know"
If you're rusty, or you're at a fairly elementary level. "Grinding" the basics is absolutely essential. Math is built from the ground up, without a good solid foundation you're only setting yourself up for failure/confusion. Don't be afraid to work on stuff that you don't find too challenging.
Also, math... for the most part, is not like riding a bike. If you don't practice consistently, not only will you not get better, you will actually get worse.
t. guy auditing introductory calculus this semester just so I can keep my foundation strong.
Grayson Diaz
It's really all over the place.
I can do relatively high level algebra but I only just learned how to correctly multiply/divide fractions and such.
It's hard to give a kind of overview with all the school switching I did due to parents moving around.
Connor Carter
My recommendation is to start at the level where you have an absolute grasp of everything beneath it, and work up from there.
Luke Gonzalez
If you are interested in doing rigorous math consider starting real analysis with baby rudin or something from your local library. It basically starts from scratch and reintroduces everything from a higher level, so you also don't have to deal with texts written for children. If you are disciplined enough you should be able to get through it. If you also do linear algebra you have a really solid foundation.
If you don't want to do rigorous math just fill the gaps using kahn academy.
Lucas Morris
Why bother going through all that shit when you can just steal stuff for free