/sci/ - Science & Math

Don't treat mathematics texts like you would a novel. Don't proceed too far ahead without first understanding what you've read.

There is nothing strange about having to read that sentence two or three times to understand it.

>>3448587
How are you supposed to read it?
Just very slowly for full comprehension, or should you take notes while going?
Obviously should do the exercises, haven't made it to those yet though.

>>3448636

I usually read the section once briefly. Re-read interesting parts thoroughly. Sketch a couple of the proofs for myself and do 30-40% of the exercises at the end of the section/chapter. I'm trying to include at least one of the few 'upper level' (harder) exercises in my work.

>>3448636
Read it however you need to in order to know it.
I found myself rereading parts of Hilbert's "Geometry and the Imagination" 20 times before I realized I mistook something he said before.

Better to be slow and correct in understanding - there is no normal reading speed for this type of material.

>>3448646
Thanks, I always worry when I can't do all of the exercises but from what you say that's normal?
I thought that you were supposed to do all of them, working through Spivak's Calculus and they are really tough.

>>3448654

I don't know other people's studying habits, but I never do 'all' exercises. I try to chose the interesting ones, and of course if I have trouble with some exercise I do not simply give up on it.

>>3448654
I would say go ahead and do Spivaks exercises - you never know when he'll reference a result later, and there really aren't an excessive amount.

I'll scan through a biochem chapter, give it time to sit, then go back and very carefully make sure that I'm good on all the main points the chapter covers. Also, I don't recommend ever marathoning science. Even low-level stuff. Dedicate yourself to only a few chapters a day, and never let yourself get too far behind.

if you can't read a textbook in 1 sitting without understanding it all then you might as well not even go to university

>>3448800

>>3448800

Get a professor while you can, no books are as good as one guy with experience in knowing what the hardest concepts for students are

40 min with 10 min breaks

>>3448800
We are talking science here, not literature. Go have fun with your English major.

>>3448874
He's also enjoying his unemployment

>>3448824
apparently if you don't show the face people don't get it

>What is best time period to read difficult/technical books, like is it better to spend 4 hours straight reading it or do 30 minutes then take a break?

that all depends on your own learning style and what you're capable of doing. find what works best for you and go with it... also, khanacademy makes math so easy a 10year old can understand it. go there, watch the video that corresponds to the chapter your studying in the book, and then go back to read the chapter. You will most likely understand the text much better after doing this.

>>3448957
Unfortunately Khan Academy doesn't go to a high enough level, I'd literally just finished Linear Algebra when I first discovered it, and he doesn't go beyond that.

Find otherways to understand it aside from simply reading the book. Don't just do problems, try different mental approaches to doing problems. Try to improve your memory with supplements. Do whatever it takes to get that edge! Just follow this rule. Whenever you find something hard, find a way to make the challenge easy to you through any means possible. In fact, don't just stop at all the means you know right now, try to find other means to further improve your capabilities later. And don't just stop there, try to improve the way you improve your capabilities! Yes! What I say is true, you can make any material easy to learn with the right mental approach, you should NEVER stick with a learning approach that you find difficult, ever!

classical music improves concentration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cze-RfsOkkc&feature=related

just read the book
if you get stuck ask /sci/
and try to quell the cries of HOMEWORK

kongregate.com/games/Leviathan278/lost-in-space-v0-15

find a quiet well-lit study area, just read normally, relax no music. no markups yet, just read at whatever pace feels right, and when your brain starts fogging up it means it's telling you to pause.
close your eyes, don't go on facebook or cracked or anything, just sit with your eyes closed and turn over what you read in your head. when you feel clear again, keep reading.

do this in cycles of 20 minutes study, 10 minutes break. with a timer. no work during break, no play during work.