Studying Why do I find engineering math textbooks much more understandable?

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The discussion highlights a preference for engineering textbooks over traditional mathematical methods books, with participants expressing that texts like "Advanced Engineering Mathematics" are more comprehensible and practical for non-math majors. Critics of the "Arfken & Weber" book argue it is overly verbose and lacks clear explanations, making it difficult to learn from without extensive problem-solving. Some participants suggest that while engineering texts may lack mathematical rigor, this can enhance understanding by simplifying complex concepts. The conversation emphasizes the value of balancing intuitive learning from less rigorous texts with the clarity provided by more formal mathematical resources, advocating for a cross-referencing approach to deepen understanding.
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In many of the topics in math i hav learned so far, i just found that engin textbooks such as <advanced engin math> are much more understandable and yet covering similar depth of contents than mathematic methods book such as aftken&weber which my teacher choose as reference book for e course.
I think the latter is of so much worthless words that only makes the topic harder but not its usability.. Any way why learn anything that's not useful if I'm not a math major?

Does that mean I'm not suitable for science studies such as the physics major I'm taking now?
 
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I have that too. Interesting question.
 
You think arfken and webber is overly verbose?

They hardly explain anything. The only way to learn from that book is to do problems IMO.
 
Different books [styles, content, motivations, etc... ] appeal to different people [possibly, at different times in their lives]. So it depends on what you are after. Some would regard all of these "engineering math" and "math methods" books as "cookbooks" mainly useful for looking things up. For an "end-user", they might be sufficient... but for real understanding, one needs to go beyond these types of books.
 
Norman said:
You think arfken and webber is overly verbose?

They hardly explain anything. The only way to learn from that book is to do problems IMO.


yrp, i think a&w is merely a summary style text.. i can hardly learn anything from it no matter how hard i tried.. i am beginning to regret buying it..

anyway i think boas did a better job in explaining.. but boas spent too much words of explaining while simple words can do the same..

i kind liked wiley.. anybody read that book before? i think its the most engin style book i hav read.. liked it very much..
 
Echoing what robphy said, Engineering books lack proper mathematical rigor ={ Which may be why they are easier to understand sometimes, because too much rigor can cloud intuition. I've seen many times when a simple relation that can be shown easily by some algebraic manipulation, has to go through a long induction proof to prove formally. To get the best of both worlds, cross reference both books, bringing understanding to rigor is the best thing a student can have.
 
I think non-rigorous approach is good for developing intuition, but sometimes it just confuses people. May be the best is to read non-rigorous text until the point you feel confused and then read rigorous text to clarify things. It is like difference between proofs in physics and proofs in math.
 

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