What Are the Best Self-Teaching Math Books for Aspiring Physicists?

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A user expresses a newfound interest in physics but struggles with math, particularly due to a lackluster teacher. They acknowledge their basic algebra skills are insufficient for understanding calculus, which they aim to learn eventually. The user seeks recommendations for textbooks that can bridge their knowledge gaps in algebra and prepare them for calculus. They mention "Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide" but find it may be too introductory. Another user recommends "Basic Mathematics" by Serge Lang, praising it for its clarity and straightforward approach, highlighting it as an excellent resource for foundational math skills.
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So I have been interested in physics for a while now, but I have never really cared much for math until now. The teacher I have is terrible and I personally have to look up online what to do because she is terrible at explaining the subject. I know basic algebra with holes in what i know, but as i said i have sparked an interest in physics a while ago. So does anyone know a good textbooks for someone in my situation? The ultimate goal is calculus, but I have read everywhere that understanding calculus requires a strong background in algebra, Something I don't have. I've seen the book
Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide but it looks just like an introduction to the subject, any opinions on the book?
 
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E7.5 said:
Basic Mathematics by Serge Lang

Best book on basic math I've ever seen. Clear, no BS.
 

Thread 'Self Learning Math/Physics'

Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
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Thread 'What should I do if I found a paper with same result as mine?'

Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...
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