I'm a bit of a dunce when it comes to math.
I don't really understand power laws, log scales, algorithms, or standard deviations... I see the word "Bayesian" a lot but I really don't know what means.
Anyone have go-to book recommendations for someone who wants to become more mathematically literate, but not necessarily a "practitioner?"
In the sense that, if I wanted to learn multivariate calculus I suppose I could pick up a textbook and grind at it, but I doubt I'd end up using that skill directly.
But maybe having a broader understanding of the whole toolbox could be useful, in knowing who or what I'd need to utilize to solve a particular problem?
Meta question: Is a general knowledge of these concepts even useful without knowing how to crunch the numbers yourself?
I'm not a developer, but learning how to code up to a point, and the basics of computer science has helped me to collaborate with people who are.
Does that track with math too, and if so, what book(s) should I start with?
Quick answer now.
Try this 3 blue 1 brown channel. It's the best at explaining math intuitively.
Remind me on Monday for actual book recommendations.
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Much appreciated! I subbed to the channel and will check it out, though it looks pretty advanced for where I'm at right now
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There are some very introductory videos and series too on his channel.
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You can learn more about mathematics from any book, textbooks. Can’t think of any single go-to book at the moment.
For me, the most influential book, I read as a high school student, was One, two, three, … infinity by George Gamow.
The book explores a wide range of fundamental concepts in mathematics and science, written at a level understandable by middle school students up through "intelligent layman" adults.
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Love it thanks! It looks great, and if you still remember it from HS then that's a pretty good indicator of its value!
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Mathematics isn't about crunching numbers, to the point where sometimes it's even difficult to see what the one has to do with the other.
There's a great set of books called "The World of Mathematics", that cover an amazing range of math concepts and applications in a very readable form.
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Thank you, that's along the lines of what I'm looking for 👍
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119 sats \ 1 reply \ @398ja 14 Sep
Give the khan academy a try. They are usually good at explaining difficult concepts in ways that anyone can understand and relate to.
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Thanks it's probably a good place for me to start, I also used the app "Brilliant" before which not cheap, but found it really useful and kind of addicting
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You should try vedic maths.
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I'm also not an expert, but if you want to be an expert in mathematics, maybe you can buy several books of your choice to study it more deeply, but if you want to be brief, it seems like a lot of it comes from YouTube. .
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A couple years ago I read this book Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks
If you already know math this book helps you to master it
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