/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.4486287]

>tfw returning to school after 4 years out

I need a good precalculus book /sci/, I'd like to major in math but I remember fuck all from school.

please no khanacademy

[Anonymous No.4486301]

>>4486287

khan is too advanced for you
patrickjmt is better though, but still too advanced

any precalc book will do, just grab one start doing problems...

purplemath is also a good site for basic shit

[Anonymous No.4486306]

>please don't recommend that I take advantage of the best source on the internet for learning all math up to calculus 1

fixed that for you

Did you even know that khan academy has games for learning math all the way up to calc 1?

OP is a fag imo

[Anonymous No.4486307]

Principles of Mathematics - by Allendoerfer, not Russell

You can find used copies if you're lucky for $30 or less, sometimes it is sold for $200 though. Good luck finding it on ebook sites because it's just not there.

It was recommended to me on physicsforums as a prerequisite to Spivak and after working through it I must agree that it's better than any other precalc book I can think of.

[Anonymous No.4486309]

>>4486306
>learning through games

[Anonymous No.4486315]

Try Spivak's Calculus. This is the hardest calculus textbook, but if you want to major in math, it is the best place to start. It starts from the very basics like a(b+c)=ab+ac but works its way up to some amazing stuff. He proves for example that pi is irrational, which is an extremely difficult proof.

When I started reading this textbook in community college, I didn't know any math beyond how to solve a quadratic equation. Two years later, I was studying advanced algebraic topology and differential geometry.

[Anonymous No.4486316]

>>4486309
Lol, the anti-fun police is here; quick, everyone hide their games!

lol, he's so frustrated that well adjusted people are able to have fun while learning

HAHA

[Anonymous No.4486317]

>>4486309

I know! That's as absurd as learning through books, film or television!

>never number munched. learned the shit out of prime numbers all the way through multiplication and division with that shit.

[Anonymous No.4486333]

>>4486316
Any serious student finds ample entertainment in reading rigorous textbooks. Those who do not are not suited for academic undertakings.

[Anonymous No.4486334]

pre-calculus demystified is actually pretty good, its not too in-depth though and skips parametric equations. it helped me immensely before going back to school

>>4486307
i too have heard really good things about this book

>>4486316
khan means well and has an awesome free resource but i too wouldnt exactly recommend the site to someone hoping to succeed as a math major

[Anonymous No.4486340]

>>4486333
Haha, he thinks that because some people find rigorous textbooks fun then other methods of learning aren't valod

LOL

[Anonymous No.4486339]

>>4486306
>>4486309
>>4486316

Where exactly are there games on Khan Academy? And how is listening to his scatterbrained "lectures" fun?

[Anonymous No.4486342]

>>4486333

It's less about entertainment and more about learning the material in a comfortable manner.

If you can embrace the study through textbooks, great! Otherwise, given that it'd be nice to have more people familiar with math and science, to each their own. If it gets you learning something, what difference does it make how you do it?

[Anonymous No.4486344]

>>4486339
sign up on the site and go to the practice section, that's where you practice math

it's not like space blasters or something, it's just an automated process that teaches you math

the game part comes in with badges and things you earn for speed, accuracy and progress

it's very fun and you can learn a lot very quickly

[Anonymous No.4486345]

>>4486340
they aren't "valod" when the teacher sucks and the problem base too small and too easy

[Anonymous No.4486347]

>>4486345
he now changes from his original argument when he realizes that he has been defeated

LOL

[Anonymous No.4486350]

>>4486315 here

Khan is great for would-be engineers and the like. That is, practical people who need to be able compute practical things.

If you want to be a math major, you mostly don't need to learn how to compute shit, it'll come fairly naturally in time. Instead, you need to learn to think deeply on stuff that practical people don't usually care about. The only way to do this is to invest yourself in the literature in a serious way. Even though your background is rather weak, I still think this is the best way. It is far better to spend hours smashing your head against a concept that is difficult without success, than solving a 100 simple problems.

[OP !OudrPWaUDQ No.4486354]

Guys I don't like khan academy or ebooks.

I'm glad you do but please go suck his cock in another thread.

Actually just continue as normal as I believe I have what I need. Thank you to those who answered in a mature manner.

[Anonymous No.4486357]

>>4486347
i didnt have an original argument - i just saw a fight about khanacademy going on and pointed out that its for minorities and engineers

[Anonymous No.4486362]

Not OP but I don't see a point in starting a new thread, does anyone in here know where I can start learning REALLY basic stuff? I only know basic stuff like additions, multiplication, etc. I dropped from highschool to start my own business and never looked back, but now I have loads of free time and I really want to learn maths. Preferably, I'd like to learn from textbooks or a website with structurized teaching.

[Anonymous No.4486371]

>>4486342

Even though I completely agree with the spirit of your argument; each student has his/her individual optimal learning method, when you progress past high school computation problems are no longer an issue. What takes up your time (at least in math courses) is understanding the implication of and proving theorems. The only effective way to accomplish this is by working ones way through a textbook.

[Anonymous No.4486375]

>>4486362
Purplemath or Khan. If you REALLY want to learn math, as others have pointed out, look into books after you have mastered basic algebra.

I have an infographic with lots of books posted here years ago somewhere. Let me look.

[Anonymous No.4486378]

>>4486375
I would really appreciate that, I was already looking at purplemath and Khan, but since it's been practically 10 years since the last time I set foot on a school, I was unsure if the subjects there were appropriate for me

[Anonymous No.4486387]

i used blitzer's precalc, still refer to it from time to time. i would recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Essentials-Edition-Robert-Blitzer/dp/0321594037/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8
&qid=1332262931&sr=8-3

[Anonymous No.4486390]

>>4486354

>I don't like Khan academy or ebooks
>ebooks

okay, well, that's enough of this bullshit for me. Buying textbooks is honestly one of the most stupid things you can do these days. The entire business model is based on fucking students in the ass simply because they can. Enjoy your inferior education because you weren't willing to read multiple textbooks on your subject and receive a deeper view of what is going on.

[Anonymous No.4486393]

>>4486390
i know it comes as a surprise but not all of us enjoy sitting at a computer 16 hours a day

[Anonymous No.4486400]

>>4486390
>has never heard of used books

Granted, duplex laser printers are cheap now and pirating and printing can be more cost effective. But you are in the minority as far as learning media preference.

http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/75-of-college-students-prefer-print-textbooks_b4838

[Anonymous No.4486402]

>>4486393

Well, shit kneegrow... Better rethink your career path.

Mathematics isn't exactly a mobile inquiry. If not at the computer, it'll be in knee deep in proofs at a desk. Might as well join the two.

[Anonymous No.4486404]

>>4486402
i am not and will never be a mathematician. there are more than 2 ppl on 4chan

[Anonymous No.4486406]

>>4486390
>buying books is a ripoff
okay

[Anonymous No.4486411]

>>4486406

He didn't say books in general, chief. He said textbooks specifically.

If you don't feel the same, you've never experienced the financial burden of edition after edition. If that's the case, could your parents pay for my schooling too?

[Anonymous No.4486417]

>>4486411
>you've never experienced the financial burden of edition after edition
Or you're like normal people who just buy whatever edition the course uses
>I can't handle money that must mean everyone is an idiot poorfag or gets everything paid by their parents
Okay then

[Anonymous No.4486420]

>>4486411
But the person he quoted is talking about books in general.

[Anonymous No.4486433]

>>4486390
>recommends khan academy to math majors
>purports to be an expert on mathematics careers
>goes off on angry, tangential arguments because people like what he doesn't like

Is school out in America or something?

[Anonymous No.4486439]

>>4486417

To the first point, the previous edition (which has the same information but different pictures and homework problems in different orders) is ridiculously less expensive. Unless you can afford the unnecessary expense, it makes more sense getting an older edition or just getting the ebook.

To the second, not every person without money is in that situation because they are bad with money. It's a nice thought, but things don't really work that way.

>>4486420
>Buying textbooks is honestly one of the most stupid things you can do these days.
>Buying textbooks
>textbooks
>As in not every goddamn book, just textbooks.

Nope.

[Anonymous No.4486453]

>>4486439
>older edition is the exact same thing reordered
Not true with anything I've used, wouldn't be surprise if it happened at some point with some book though. Still, what's stopping you from getting an older book if it's the same thing?
Hell, you can get an older book used really cheap.
>not every person money blabla
True, but thinking everyone who can afford textbooks lives off his parents gives the impression of an idiot who needs excuses for the fact that he can't handle money.

[Anonymous No.4486454]

>>4486439
>Guys I don't like khan academy or ebooks.
>nothing about textbooks

Yep

[OP !OudrPWaUDQ No.4486460]

Goddammit you people need help. Thanks for making me feel much better about myself. Deleting this trainwreck.