13 votes

Any good math textbook/book recommendations

I would like to get slightly more educated in mathematics again - I took some basic calculus and linear algebra classes while doing my degree, but most likely forgot what I learned for the most part. Are there any good books that you guys would recommend for someone who wants to learn math again?

12 comments

  1. [2]
    Nllptr
    Link
    The recommendation that I always give for topics like this is Spivak's Calculus. That book was the one that made me take a major on maths, it's just so beatifully written that i think it is...

    The recommendation that I always give for topics like this is Spivak's Calculus. That book was the one that made me take a major on maths, it's just so beatifully written that i think it is impossible to write a better book about the topic.

    On the topic of Linear Algebra I will always recommend Axler's Linear Algebra Done Right, it's a book full of intution and that presents Linear Algebra as what it is, the study of linear transformations between vector spaces.

    As an introduction to real analysis i will recommend Abbott's Understanding Analysis, I think it is THE book to start learning real analysis, and after it the usual treatment of rudin, but understanding analysis gives all the background of why we care about all the subtleties of analysis.

    Also if this is your first rodeo with proof based mathematics I really liked Hammack's the book of proof, it's a little free book that gets you started with all the logic and basic proof schemas you will need.

    I think those would be all my recommendations, you can't go wrong with any of those books, just don't start with baby rudin.

    6 votes
    1. TypicalObserver
      Link Parent
      Thanks alot for the recommendations, it's technically not my first time doing proof-based mathematics - I have taken math/logic courses which showed proofs for countable/denumerable infinities and...

      Thanks alot for the recommendations, it's technically not my first time doing proof-based mathematics - I have taken math/logic courses which showed proofs for countable/denumerable infinities and some other things, I just forgot it all because I never pursued math further.

  2. [3]
    petrichor
    Link
    What do you want to learn exactly? The standard undergrad curriculum (analysis and algebra)? Relevant mathematics for applications to programming, or algorithms, or science? Mathematics is an...

    What do you want to learn exactly? The standard undergrad curriculum (analysis and algebra)? Relevant mathematics for applications to programming, or algorithms, or science? Mathematics is an infinitely broad field.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      TypicalObserver
      Link Parent
      Essentially what you said, the standard curriculum in an easy-to-digest format with good examples would be great. Applications to programming would be great too.

      Essentially what you said, the standard curriculum in an easy-to-digest format with good examples would be great.

      Applications to programming would be great too.

      1. petrichor
        Link Parent
        In that case, I second @Nllptr and @RheingoldRiver's recommendations. I would notably not pursue any libre textbooks, including OpenStax, for anything beyond calculus and linear algebra. There are...

        In that case, I second @Nllptr and @RheingoldRiver's recommendations.

        I would notably not pursue any libre textbooks, including OpenStax, for anything beyond calculus and linear algebra. There are only a few texts in each subject that are widely considered excellent and most are not public domain (yet).

        1 vote
  3. [2]
    Beowulf
    Link
    Not a book, per se, but I found this website to be incredibly helpful while taking courses in college. Glad to see it's still around. Paul's Math Notes

    Not a book, per se, but I found this website to be incredibly helpful while taking courses in college. Glad to see it's still around.

    Paul's Math Notes

    3 votes
    1. TypicalObserver
      Link Parent
      That website is fantastic, I used it often during my own studies. I actually downloaded all his PDFs and have it stuck in a drive somewhere...

      That website is fantastic, I used it often during my own studies. I actually downloaded all his PDFs and have it stuck in a drive somewhere...

      1 vote
  4. eggpl4nt
    Link
    Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson. Old but gold. When I had to catch up on math for my computer science degree, I enjoyed Khan Academy. It's not a book unfortunately, but a nice...

    Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson. Old but gold.

    When I had to catch up on math for my computer science degree, I enjoyed Khan Academy. It's not a book unfortunately, but a nice interactive website with problem solving and video tutorials.

    2 votes
  5. RheingoldRiver
    Link
    My recommendation for both what subject to study & what to read is Abstract Algebra by Dummit & Foote. It has really good text and a bajillion exercises of all sorts of difficulties. You don't...

    My recommendation for both what subject to study & what to read is Abstract Algebra by Dummit & Foote. It has really good text and a bajillion exercises of all sorts of difficulties. You don't really need a background in anything to learn first-year algebra, although if you have a friend who knows math (or can join a discord server or other online community) I'd recommend getting some help reviewing your proofs because they're probably not as rigorous as you think.

    2 votes
  6. Hestu
    Link
    Openstax.org has high quality CC licensed free textbooks on many math topics. They are designed to align with college courses so things are often broken up that way (Calc 1, Calc 2, etc). They are...

    Openstax.org has high quality CC licensed free textbooks on many math topics. They are designed to align with college courses so things are often broken up that way (Calc 1, Calc 2, etc). They are adopted for use at a lot of colleges so generally suitable for self study

    2 votes
  7. Interesting
    Link
    Discrete Mathematics: Elementary and Beyond is the only math textbook I ever actually enjoyed reading during my Computer Science degree. Though it probably doesn't help that I hated doing algebra...

    Discrete Mathematics: Elementary and Beyond is the only math textbook I ever actually enjoyed reading during my Computer Science degree. Though it probably doesn't help that I hated doing algebra (I liked the calculus concepts, but found the algebraic manipulation incredibly tedious)