Insights How to Study Mathematics - Comments

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The discussion centers around a new PF Insights post titled "How to Study Mathematics," which received positive feedback for its practical tips on studying math effectively. Participants express gratitude for the insights and share their interest in further topics, particularly probability and statistics. One user highlights their experience with Leonard Susskind's physics lectures, noting the challenge of retaining information from earlier sessions, which reflects a common issue among self-learners. Another contributor discusses their background in electrical engineering and their familiarity with probability concepts, while seeking recommendations for studying statistics. Suggestions include an online statistics resource and Wasserman's "All of Statistics" as valuable materials. The conversation emphasizes the importance of engaging with exercises before reading proofs to enhance understanding and motivation in learning mathematics.
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micromass submitted a new PF Insights post

How to Study Mathematics

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Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.
 
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Superb write-up and gave me some excellent tips. Thanks.
 
RJLiberator said:
Superb write-up and gave me some excellent tips. Thanks.

Thanks a lot! :oops: If you're interested in me writing about other specific topics, let me know!
 
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Thanks very much. Lovely Insight and terribly useful too! Now to go apply this stuff!
 
very helpful indeed :)
 
Wow, what an unexpected topic, yet very useful. I imagine that most of us who self study do so without any advice at all. Thank you.

I am a fan of Leonard Susskind's video lectures on physics. But I note, that after viewing all 160 lectures, I have trouble remembering what was said in the earliest ones; so I repeat them all over and over again. Very enjoyable. But in one of the very first lectures, Susskind identifies his target students; very senior technical people who are in a big hurry to understand concepts in the little time remaining to them. That describes me very well. :-) I don't need the maturity in learning.
 
Thank you so much :)
 
micromass said:
RJLiberator said:
Superb write-up and gave me some excellent tips. Thanks.

Thanks a lot! :oops: If you're interested in me writing about other specific topics, let me know!
Perhaps probability and statistics? I am becoming very interested!
 
ElijahRockers said:
Perhaps probability and statistics? I am becoming very interested!

OK, I will write on that. But perhaps I can already give a quick recommendation to you already? What is your math background?
 
  • #10
micromass said:
OK, I will write on that. But perhaps I can already give a quick recommendation to you already? What is your math background?

B.S. Electrical Engineering, focused on DSP. I have taken a couple courses in probability, but nothing in statistics. I am familiar with Markov chains, and Kalman filtering for example, but not in Z-score. (I have only heard the term). Probability is more interesting to me than statistics, but statistics is becoming more and more required for my work.

(by the way you participated in a thread I created about p-values very recently, thank you for your input)
 
  • #11
ElijahRockers said:
B.S. Electrical Engineering, focused on DSP. I have taken a couple courses in probability, but nothing in statistics. I am familiar with Markov chains, and Kalman filtering for example, but not in Z-score. (I have only heard the term). Probability is more interesting to me than statistics, but statistics is becoming more and more required for my work.

(by the way you participated in a thread I created about p-values very recently, thank you for your input)

OK, then you might want to have a look at this online statistics site: http://www.math.uah.edu/stat/ It is basically an online textbook on probability and statistics and one of the best resources I have ever encountered. There are many helpful data sets and simulations. A possible downside: it is quite mathematical in nature, in the sense that everything is derived rigorously from its beginning. This makes the text long and perhaps difficult.

As an (easier) alternative, consider Wasserman's "All of statistics". It contains a surprising amount of information on statistics and it is all explained very well.
 
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  • #12
Nice post. But shouldn't one be familiar with the proofs before solving the exercises?
 
  • #13
Sure, but in my opinion, struggling with the exercises before reading the proofs motivates the proofs a lot. You won't be able to solve most exercises without reading the chapter in detail, but that is not the point. The point is to try and become familiar with the problems. Then the proofs and theorems will look way more useful and motivated.
 
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  • #14
I sure wished I had these hints and kinks when I was an instructor. Very good indeed!Regards,
ES
 
  • #16
Thank you very much.
 

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