
Illustrated Calculus Textbook - iwwr
http://www.math.upenn.edu/~ghrist/FLCT/
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KirinDave
It's like a lot of other calculus books I have, only polychromatic, difficult
to read, and gives me this slightly creepy face every now and then. I mean, it
seems solid, but it's just really hard to read.

Really, my favorite gentle calculus textbook has been one I recently was
Thompson's "Calculus Made Easy." The way it's written is informal by the
standards of when it was written, but to a modern eye reads like your
whimsical grandpa decided to bust out a pipe, an expensive brandy, and serious
calc knowledge.

~~~
micrypt
One of my favourites is Hiroyuki Kojima's "Manga Guide to Calculus"
(<http://nostarch.com/mg_calculus.htm>). It probably can't get much more
informal and it's actually quite entertaining.

It somehow manages a decent balance of being fun without slipping into being
trivial.

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KirinDave
Someone anonymously sent me a copy of this. I still don't know who. Was it
you? :)

~~~
micrypt
Nope. Quite odd. :)

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DTE
The idea of presenting calculus visually is certainly a good one, but this is
useless for anyone other than the author. The point of illustrations is to
enhance the material and this is just plain unreadable.

Here is an interesting project that is far more successful at math
illustration and shows some promise:

<http://worrydream.com/KillMath/>

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CrazedGeek
I don't know, the anthropomorphic lemon saying "easy peasy" enhanced it
greatly for me.

(Seriously, there's a certain great charm to these sorts of things that make
them strangely appealing to certain people, like me. It might not be great for
learning, but it's awesome as entertainment.)

~~~
capnrefsmmat
It's certainly fun to look at, but I'd have a hard time following any of the
mathematics.

What I'd like to see is an online calculus book which takes advantage of
interactive animations and graphing to demonstrate how things like integrals
and derivatives work. For example, for the limit-based definition of
derivatives, you could concoct an animation showing how the math works as
deltaX goes to 0, and so on.

There's also clever ways of demonstrating the product rule through geometry
that make the math make so much more sense. There's a lot of potential in
interactive, graphical textbooks that has yet to be explored, I think.

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shmageggy
Ow, my eyes.

I love the idea but it's very hard to read.

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lotharbot
White space does wonders for readability.

That's a lesson a lot of us in mathematics have trouble learning. We have this
tendency to try to maximize information density, viewing empty space as
inefficient because there's "nothing" there, when in reality the space
communicates separation and therefore actually does contain vital information.

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maurycy
It looks like a good idea.

On a side note, I fully agree with Conrad Wolphram that basic calculus is
conceptually rather easy to grasp and use on daily basis, but the focus on
calculations by hand makes the subject completely inaccessible.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/conrad_wolfram_teaching_kids_real_m...](http://www.ted.com/talks/conrad_wolfram_teaching_kids_real_math_with_computers.html)
<http://www.computerbasedmath.org/>

It's a great idea worth spreading.

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toot
I imagine something like this would would have happened if the unabomber was
really into maths.

I love the idea of this book and its humour, but it is quite hard to
comprehend. I can actually see maths' popularity increasing as people begin to
see it as a useful hobby, especially those who are learning programming.

I would willing to pay for lessons if learning maths didn't have to involve a
dense textbook, but instead could graphically demonstrate the theory (think 3D
modelling, moving sine waves etc.) and explain all the underlying concepts
that were glossed over in formal education.

Videos or apps like this would be a great help to me, especially if it managed
to retain this author's irreverence, Sal Khan's presentation style, but
placing more importance on rehearsed & polished lessons, 3d animation and
beautifully set typography.

Anyone know any resources that are along these lines?

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miked
_I imagine something like this would would have happened if the unabomber was
really into maths._

"In late 1967, Kaczynski became an assistant professor of mathematics at the
University of California, Berkeley, where he taught undergraduate courses in
geometry and calculus. He was also noted as the youngest professor ever hired
by the university. This position proved short-lived, as Kaczynski received
numerous complaints and low ratings from the undergraduates he taught. Many
students noted that he seemed quite uncomfortable in a teaching environment,
often stuttering and mumbling during lectures, becoming excessively nervous in
front of a class, and ignoring students during designated office hours.
Without explanation, he resigned from his position in 1969, at age 26. The
chairman of the mathematics department, J. W. Addison, called this a "sudden
and unexpected" resignation,[18] while vice chairman Calvin Moore said that
given Kaczynski's "impressive" thesis and record of publications, "He could
have advanced up the ranks and been a senior member of the faculty today."

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski>

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dizm
Calculus For Serial Killers

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willyt
It's really difficult to follow, not the Maths, the graphics. Which part of
the page is the most important thing to understand? Even, just what order are
the sentences intended to be read in? Lucky it's not handwritten, he could
just change the font...

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UofFree
I like the concept and am interested into how much time you spent on the
project so far, when do you expect to be completed? Is this the first textbook
that you wrote?

I like the graphics, but your font is very difficult to read for extended
periods, it is best used as a headliner at most. I understand your desire for
a distinctive look, but readability is most important for a textbook. Also the
pages appear to me as too cluttered. Think about it as a PowerPoint
presentation with 50 million bullet points, there's a point of diminishing
returns. Spread the information, users won't mind the additional pages.

I look forward to seeing this completed.

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kunjaan
This may work with narration but the text in itself ,at least for me, is
completely useless.

I think other attempts from "Manga Guide" series and even the "Transnational
College of LEX" series are far more effective than this one.

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afims
This is fun to look at; if he spaced things out some more, it would be easier
to read. Then again, it might lose some of its chaotic/stylized charm.

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inconditus
Anyone else having trouble comprehending the text?

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flixotide
yups, read it slowly and you will understand.

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cmansley
Ghrist is a brilliant guy. He does his presentations at conferences in exactly
the same style and it is brilliant. He has a framework of notes that he
scrolls through, but as he is speaking he will fill in parts of overall
picture with sketches. He is one of the few speakers that can make technical
topics both interesting and intuitive.

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SeanDav
The approach certainly has merit - in the sense of making math seem less
serious and more fun. We need more of this approach!

Execution needs work though. Way too cluttered and dense. I would move more
slowly and make sure 1 concept is put totally to bed before moving onto the
next one.

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blaaah
I'm taking Calculus 2 next semester and I was hoping this would be a good
source to study from. I appreciate the fact that the information is condensed
to exactly what a person needs to know to solve the problem, but the text is
unreadable. This is wasted potential...

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petercooper
I have a horrible attention span for math nowadays but found the whole first
chapter a pleasant read. Different strokes for different folks and all that.
It could be a little better spaced out and what not, but this is a great
refresher.

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pinguar
Actually I found this very easy to read & follow, maybe because my own note-
taking is very similar to this -a total chaos and pictures all around.

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flixotide
I like the notes.It makes it easier to grab the concepts. After going through
notes i will dig deeper in the concepts. Than kyou for the post

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AnthonBerg
I'm not sure how easy it is to learn something new from those notes, but they
are probably the greatest calculus refresher I've seen so far.

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michael_dorfman
Come to think of it, my first calculus book (back in the 70s) was a comic
book--"Prof. E McSquared's Calculus Primer"

Highly recommended.

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robert_nsu
This book is actually very easy for me to read. This may explain why I never
got along with my calculus teachers.

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siphr
I like this. I think it derive's a bit from Khan's Academy in that it tries to
make it look casual and fun.

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walrus
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Calculus

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rufibarbatus
It's not the same without the foxes and the soundtrack.

Seriously, though, this might be a good idea, but it desperately needs
improving. I shouldn't have to catch myself thinking about typography so often
while reading a Math textbook.

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Dornkirk
This is cool :)

Any estimate on when it will be complete?

