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criminal minds reid mathematics
Huh, right, I need to buy a protractor.

I have finally finished the algebra books (Practical Algebra: a Self-Teaching Guide, by Peter Selby and Steve Slavin, and a for-dummies workbook I didn't use all that much.) , and am now embarking upon geometry and trig. I remember loving geometry; I hope I still do. I am using these two books: Geometry and Trigonometry for Calculus: a Self-Teaching Guide, by Peter H. Selby, and Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell, by George F. Simmons. I find it's nice to have two books, and the internets, because often when one confuses me the other(s) will clarify. I also have a copy of an Algebra II book I mean to go over once I am done with these, and another precalculus text.

I am pleased to note that by the end of the algebra book, I was actually starting to have an intuitive feel for how distance and mixture equations actually did what they did.

Plan for the rest of the day: Math, then rock climbing, then guitar practice, then a whole bunch of catching up on Flashpoint.

Now, about those triangles....

Comments

( 9 comments — Leave a comment )
greylistening
Jan. 28th, 2011 05:53 pm (UTC)
Why are you doing this math? For fun? Or do you have a devious Purpose?
slothman
Jan. 28th, 2011 06:20 pm (UTC)
A friend of mine has a PhD in math, and has a rather thick tome labeled Basic Algebra I. I took a look in it once and the notation lost me on the first page. When the professional mathematicians get into the basics, they really dig in!
beccastareyes
Jan. 28th, 2011 06:52 pm (UTC)
I remember when I was doing my math major and a friend was taking education classes. We glanced over our notes one evening, and realized we were both looking at things like sets and long division -- she was learning how to explain it to elementary schoolers and I was learning to prove how it really worked, complete with proof notation.
slothman
Jan. 28th, 2011 07:34 pm (UTC)
It wasn’t until I took a college course that derived the real numbers from elementary set theory that I understood why all of my grade school math textbooks started with set theory and then dropped it like a hot potato. I think someone was trying to set up the foundation for getting that deep understanding of numbers, and then the remnants of that were what actually wound up in the texts.
dd_b
Jan. 28th, 2011 07:02 pm (UTC)
One of the reasons I oppose teachers using their own textbook is precisely that, if they don't, you get two views of the subject, which is often helpful, in the ways you refer to.
feyandstrange
Jan. 28th, 2011 10:28 pm (UTC)
I am so proud of you and so impressed. I don't have the guts to try trig again. Maybe someday. I do need to dust off the advanced biomed books though.
heathwitch
Jan. 29th, 2011 12:51 am (UTC)
Congrats on the math -- it's still something I have problems with, and that's only the simple stuff. Stuff like algebra scares me. :p
elissa_carey
Jan. 29th, 2011 02:43 am (UTC)
If you think that's awesome, just try using Trig for Physics. You'll LOVE it.
mmarques
Jan. 29th, 2011 03:50 am (UTC)
I was a bit weird about math in school. Loved algebra, but didn't get geometry. The more math has to do with the real world (e.g geometry, word problems), the less I understand it.
( 9 comments — Leave a comment )

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