Math, where to start?

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630348]

sup /sci/ - I've made a post like this many times in the past to the point where I'm exhausted to even type it again but whatever. I don't want to shit up the board with a retard 'plshelpme' blogpost, so i'll try to make it concise. I'm a 25yr old loser. absolutely horrid academic history, as in, barely graduated high school and barely graduated community college with liberal arts degree. "Not dumb just lazy" type. I'm just about a little below average at all things, but not amazing at any, that is, when I apply myself.

My question is this: I want to work my ass off and study something related to math or physics, or just some sort of science. Right now, I know about as much math as a lazy 6th grader. I'm excellent with arithmetic, and I know very very very basic algebra, meaning I can solve for x with things like 5x+10=20. Where should I start? I've tried Khan Academy but I keep jumping back and forth. I start in arithmetic/pre-algebra and it's too easy and I feel bored, then I jump over to Algebra I & II and it's too far ahead for me, don't have the prerequisite knowledge.

TL;DR what resources to start from a middle school level in mathematics if I want to learn quickly? I'd like to be able to do pre-calculus in the shortest amount of time possible, as in, I went in over my head and took a precalc class right now and I'm like a fish out of water.

I really just want to get my foundation laid out and cover all bases. I keep jumping back and forth in KA because I feel like I'm gonna miss something, but I just can't figure out where to start. I'm also worried about missing something in the middle of those dozens of boring lessons that i'll end up actually needing in the future.

I've found this: http://djm.cc/library/Algebra_Elementary_Text-Book_Part_I_Chrystal_edited.pdf
what do you guys think of this? is it too outdated? does it cover EVERYTHING i need to know about algebra?

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630360]

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630366]

thank you in advance. i'm wholeheartedly expecting to get shit on, i've been lurking here for near a decade and on /b/ for over one, but nonetheless

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630372]

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630376]

[Anonymous No.11630377]

>>11630348
Usually you'd start with A Course in Arithmetic by Serre, but since you've got a good grounding with it, you could probably skip it.
Basic algebra 1 and 2 by Jacobson will probably be good to get you up to scratch with your algebra.
You probably also want to get good at geometry, so Geometric Measure Theory by Federer would get you going there.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630379]

>>11630377
Thank you very, very much I appreciate it. I might go back over arithmetic with the serre one if it's a really good book, I have a sort of obsessive paranoia that I'm going to miss something I should know and get embarrassed by my peers should I get a research job someday. That and I could also still use a brush up on fraction and decimal arithmetic.

As far as the 2 Jacobson books, would you say that Pre-Algebra is unnecessary in this case? If I were to be sufficient in regular basic arithmetic, could I really just jump into Algebra I like that?

Thanks again

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630387]

>>11630377
I just looked at the serre book... I don't get it, is this what arithmetic is really like? I was under the impression that arithmetic referred to just basic operations like + - * / and fractions/decimals/ratios. What the fuck even is this?

Like I said I'm at like a 12 year old math level, going by the US school system. When I said I know arithmetic I meant I know my times tables and how to do long division.

I'm gonna keep reading but I'm already a bit lost on the first page

Not even one paragraph in and he's talking about integral domains, what the fuck does that mean? I guess I'll just google and trudge my way along, I've not had any recommendations until now so I'll take your word for it.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630398]

>>11630377
were you trolling or are you just so far into math that you forgot what it's like to be ignorant?

what the fuck even is this

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630418]

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630421]

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630423]

i just wanna be like you guys talking about big fancy numbers...i wanna theorize and learn and be at a point where i can test different ideas about nature itself

i want to get out of the rut of stupidity im in

please help

what would you do if you forgot all math today?

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630438]

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630448]

[Anonymous No.11630466]

>>11630348
do everything on khan academy, even the bits you decided you are bored by. literally start at GRADE 1 and do all of the exercises in every section. anything you can't get 100% on in your head while watching a movie, learn it until you find it as easy as the stuff you find boring. this will take you a few days and you will find out all your weak points (i guarantee there's more than you think).

if you don't have the foundations absolutely nailed down, you're going to find more advanced algebra and calculus endlessly frustrating. and you will waste so much time going back to the bits you brushed over you will eventually either quit the subject or you will start again from the beginning, chastened

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630487]

>>11630466
this was honestly my plan unless anyone said otherwise, and i felt like a maniac for doing this way, so i guess that's reassuring. thanks man.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630507]

>>11630466
can i just ask, have you done this yourself? it's literally maddening. he explains so slowly and there's soooo many videos from every subject

i was determined to do 100% in early math and i did it but it literally took maybe 5+ hours of just constant, literal 5 year old level baby goo goo gaa gaa math

right now i'm just skipping around at little sections in pre-algebra

[Anonymous No.11630513]

>>11630507
>skipping
not gonna make

[Anonymous No.11630521]

>>11630487
My friend you're a dilettante and you don't have a real interest in majoring in STEM, all the signs indicate it. You're simply pressured into changing yourself radically and unable to objectively evaluate the challenges ahead in your assertions of where you'd like to go. That sense of accomplishment that goes with imagining yourself in one future is not going to be enough fuel for you once actually embark on it. Just use your money making ability with what you do have and then start the big ambitious project you so desire without going back into school. Who'e heard of a humanity's major reentering school to do a math degree? You are mixed up but not lost.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630542]

>>11630521
stop reading after second sentence, youre sounding like a cunt mate

just because everyone didnt have their nose in a book like you from the age of 16 doesnt mean they all of a sudden feel 'pressured' into whatever. You don't know where I've been and what i've been like before or why I chose this path, so unless you have some resources for me, you can fuck right off.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630569]

threads closed everyone. let it go to page 15. I'll stick with khan academy because once again i've got nothing but meme recommendations of things that are clearly past the level i've indicated at, and holier-than-thou armchair psychologists trying to dissect why i've decided to try to start studying math so late and in this context

so long everyone, i'll see you all in therapy :^)

shout out to >>11630466 for actually giving relevant and constructive advice. i'll stick with that.

[Anonymous No.11630611]

>>11630507
yes, i have done this, and was also very lazy and unmotivated in high school and college. only you can decide if you really want to learn at this point. do all the exercises but only watch the vids for stuff you don't already know inside-out. pro-tip: watch the videos on 2x speed

one other small piece of advice: when it comes to pre-calculus, make sure you understand the hell out of what's going on with the unit circle in trigonometry. you're going to need that intuition a lot in the future and people normally skip over it thinking they already learned about triangles

[Anonymous No.11630626]

>>11630348
What about starting solving problems in your head by imagination, then reaching books?

I am stuck at form of obtaining empirical evidence and budget for project that big thermal reactor still works until planets get frozen or material damaged.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630629]

>>11630611
that's such a beautiful image, i'm in awe...

but, thanks again brother, i appreciate it very much. it's nice to know someones been through the same. i'll stick with it, i'm about 45% done with arithmetic and 100% on early math, so i guess i'll finish arithmetic and keep trudging through.

thanks for taking the time out to help me out, it means more than i could say.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11630642]

>>11630626
i've actually not given that too much consideration.

i did however have a thing i was trying to sort out the other day-
i boil water in a saucepan for tea. water boils at 212f and the tea is best brewed at 202f. its usually ~68f in my house and i use 16oz of water to boil, in a stainless steel pot. the waters about 2in deep and the pot is about 12in wide.

i wanted to figure out how long in those conditions it would take for the water to cool from 212f to 202f after removing from heat but i couldnt seem to sort it

but if you mean by imaginary problems that sort of thing, yeah, i should look into more of those. i'll try to think of one up rn to give my brain a break from KA. cheers

[Anonymous No.11630677]

>>11630387
>>11630398
>is this what arithmetic is really like?
that's algebra.

[Anonymous No.11630827]

>>11630348
I would consider "Basic Mathematics" by Serge Lang.
It requires no prerequiste knowledge and starts from the very basics but goes through them at a really sophisticated level.
Try to gather some more opinions though

[Anonymous No.11630842]

It’s a bit difficult to retrace back what i learnt in school, but once you know basic algebra and basic linear functions (you know, straight lines and shit), i’d suggest you move onto Quadratics (parabolas) and then onto cubic functions. Don’t forget to learn trigonometry as well, especially the trigonometric functions sin, cos and tan. Once you’ve gotten through all of that stuff to a decent level, you should move over to single-variable calculus, then multivariable calculus, and linear algebra. I’m speaking very broadly here, but that’s around where i am in my undergraduate Bachelor of science course (i’m a first year). As for doing physics, it should take fuck all math to do high school physics and even some of the early shit in UNI, but as it goes on calculus will be very important. Having a rudimentary knowledge of multivariable calculus will allow you to study quantum mechanics on a basic level.

[Anonymous No.11630869]

[Anonymous No.11630873]

>>11630869
@.@

[Anonymous No.11630884]

>>11630348
>>11630348
>"Not dumb just lazy"
this usually means dumb. humble yourself, maybe you're truly not capable of learning this stuff or as smart as you think you are. you only have one life, and one chance to know (both the material and your abilities).

so hurry up, start with calculus and fill in the gaps as you go. don't fall for the /sci/ memes and spend a year in math kindergarten. doing one section of any of stewart's calculus books is very doable (where a section is like 8.1, not the entire chapter 8). That should take you about three months, then come back.

it's ridiculous not to give it your best and is indicative of low-iq. godspeed and goodluck anon

[Anonymous No.11631464]

>>11630348
>TL;DR what resources to start from a middle school level in mathematics if I want to learn quickly?

[Anonymous No.11631543]

>>11630387
>I guess I'll just google and trudge my way along
That's the spirit! If you get stumped anywhere, feel free to ask us. Many of us here have read the book, that's why we recommended it to you.

[Anonymous No.11631622]

Most advice here are just memes, don't pay attention. If you are serious about math do this:

Finish this book, its basically all hs math with lots of exercises so you can make sure you understand. This is a faster alternative to Khan. http://93.174.95.29/main/2A2FE290A5451731EC7FD0DF862AD845

After that get Stewart's Calculus. You will need everything from the last book, and here you will start to see proofs.

Once you are done with that Choose between Pugh's Real analysis, Axler's Linear Algebra, Enderton's Set Theory, or Enderton's Mathematical logic. The first two go deeper into conventional math, the last two are foundations. Read them in whatever order you want, it doesn't matter. These are real, formal math books for math majors, so read very carefully and expect it be hard.

[Anonymous No.11631690]

If you're still around, mate, I want to wish you the best of luck with your endeavor.

Take a look at the Axler book >>11631622 posted and see what you can do with that. If you don't feel up to snuff with the first bit of the book, work through Khan Academy until you are. I can also personally recommend Axler's Precalculus book, as well; that's what I used. It's likely a bit beyond the earlier Axler book, but it's very thorough. Afterward, just go through Stewart's Calculus and see how that goes for you, then see where you want to go from there. Once you've got a working knowledge of computational calculus, a lot of paths will open for you.

It's certainly a doable task. I was a bit younger and a bit further along in my math knowledge than you are right now, but I did the same thing. I dropped out of HS due to personal reasons and fucked about for a few years before beginning to hate my life. Decided to change, went through Axler's Precalculus book over the course of a few months, then started at my local community college. Years later, I'm finishing up a double Math/Physics B.S. at a Top 20 university; soon to be entering a PhD program for high-energy physics theory, and I'm excelling.

You can do it. It takes a hell of a lot of work to do it, but it can be done. Again, good luck.

[Anonymous No.11632552]

find a textbook on algebra and trigonometry that has problems and answers. try solving the problems. if you don't know how to solve the problem, look up how to solve the problem. solve the problem. check your answer in the back of the book. if it's not right go back and analyze where you went wrong. solve it again and get the right answer. do this every day for thousands of problems and you will figure out how things work without spending a lot of time reading boring shit

[Anonymous No.11632643]

>>11630348
Basic mathematical logic and axiomatic set theory. Most books will cover a large amount of topics, the important for you to learn are (order, equivalence) relations, functions, basic cardinality tests and axiom of choice. After that go for abstract algebra and learn group, field and Galois theory; then you are ready to go for vector and matrix spaces. Now you know linear algebra you've unlocked many topics: Practically all the elementary number theory theorems are just applications of some algebraic structure propierties, you should read some elementary synthetic geometry (maybe euclidean or some contemporary axiomatic systems such as Hilbert's or Tarski's) then go into analytic geometry (you can transition easily proving that the space is a vector space). You should read mathematical analysis, with your set theory knowledge you should be able to construct all the basic known number sets (from naturals to reals), then learn (Cauchy) sequences and limits; bam! You are ready for derivates, now you have two choices: the virgin engineer path to continue reading just concrete real analysis or the chad topologist path. You take the red pill, you know set theory so you should be just fine. After you've learn the basics of Set Theory, Algebra, Number Theory, Analysis, Topology and Geometry you are free to choose the one(s) you enjoy the most and keep going, have a nice life, anon

[Anonymous No.11632693]

>>11630348
Go on KA and do Algebra 1 first.

A book I'd recommend is Understanding Engineering Mathematics by John Bird. It's an excellent book that covers everything from basic algebra to advanced calculus.

I'm using it extensively for my engineering degree

[Anonymous No.11632817]

>>11630348
>alternating male and female stick figures
>the math stick figure is a girl of course

[Anonymous No.11632844]

>>11632817
It's the comic author's waifu. She's always the smartest and most reasonable.

[Anonymous No.11633155]

Algebra Essentials Practice Workbook by Chris McMullen. Next his trig book, then calculus.

[Anonymous No.11633182]

>>11630348
You are ADHD anon. The thing about you not being dumb just lazy. And how you want to shotgun study a bunch of academia really quick. It’s really obvious you’re ADHD. You will never be satisfied in an academics profession. You will thrive much better in a fast pace high risk profession

[Anonymous No.11633364]

Sttart with the greeks.

[Anonymous No.11633494]

>>11633182
>>11633182
yeah no.

this 'shotgunning' you're referring to is me trying to catch up so that i'm not 32 still slugging along doing things that i should've done years ago. It's normal to want to shotgun ahead and catch up when you're as far behind as I am.

Also, 'lazy not dumb' can be attributed to a myriad of factors. I was an alcoholic in a very rough household from 14 onward, the last thing I cared about was schoolwork. I have no issue focusing and this isn't some spontaneous goal of mine, it's something I've wanted to chase for years and never had the ability to due to outside circumstances until now.

Suck my ballsack with your armchair philosophy bullshit. I asked for resources, not for you to play Dr.Phil. I'm not in the least bit interested in a high-risk, fast paced profession

The level of projection is astounding and my sides are in orbit.

[melonsoda !c9e3YGXm42 No.11633498]

>>11631622
>>11631690
>>11632552
>>11632643
>>11632693
>>11633155

thank you all dearly for the suggestions. I've saved them into my text editor and I'm gonna look at them one by one right now and see what fits me best.

Thank you all

[Anonymous No.11633554]

>>11630348
I'm almost in the same boat as you. Though I will begin with Kindergarten maths (arithmetic). The difference is that I want to learn it the rigorous way after learning it once. If you want to go that way use two books for each topic/grade: one regular textbook, and one more rigorous. In place of a regular textbook you could use Khan Acadmey. For grade school some more or less rigorous textbooks come from: AOPS,Gelfand,Jacobs, Kiselev which can be downloaded from libgen. Advanced rigorous math textbooks are easy to find.

[Anonymous No.11634633]

>>11631622
>>11631690
The link seems broken. What's the title of the book?