

Math ∩ Programming - robdoherty2
http://jeremykun.com/primers/

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NotOscarWilde
It seems there are a lot of gaps in his primers -- he includes topology and
some intro to Python, but the actual heart of programming -- algorithms and
algorithm techniques -- is mostly missing.

This is of course his right -- it's just a collection of blog posts after all
-- but caveat lector.

I would probably go for textbooks instead. Textbooks usually do give a bigger
picture in the topics mentioned and they usually have an acceptable learning
curve, so no additional primer is required (though as always, googling
additional info is a plus).

If you're learning CS, it's often super useful to mix and match two or three
textbooks to get a nice picture of things. For example, when you're reading an
Algorithms book about graph traversal, it's nice to read a book on graph
theory as well. Conversely, several equalities in graph theory can be proven
by a simple algorithm (greedy or DFS, for instance).

My personal favourite is mixing up Dynamic Programming (from an Algorithms
textbook) with recurrence solving in a discrete math book (which is what DP is
actually about) and mixing all that with a more advanced chapter of discrete
math -- generating functions.

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nikomen
I agree it would be nice if the gaps in his primers were filled in, but it's
to have a resource like this that can help give an understanding of at least
some of the topics related to math and programming.

I know from my experiences that trying to read a discrete math or algorithms
and data structures textbook can be very daunting. I've also tried viewing the
lectures of the algorithms class on Coursera and usually give up because of
the difficulty of trying to learn these things after spending 8 hours coding
at work. Not having a background in computer science makes this into an uphill
battle. Any resource to make this struggle easier is greatly encouraging to
me.

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doorhammer
I have a similar problem. It's really hard to work 8 - 10 hours then come home
and try to have the steam to dive into a mathematics or algorithms textbook
and go through it in a way that really lets me internalize the material.

Could be that I just haven't found the right books or rhythm for this kind of
learning, though. Doesn't help that I'm a pretty disorganized person with my
time outside of work, heh.

I've read a few posts on this blog before, and remember enjoying them. I'll
have to read a few more. I think it's partly because of how much I hated
formal education, and partly because a blog doesn't have the same physical
presence as a textbook, but blog posts are less psychologically draining to
think about than a book, for me.

~~~
radicalbyte
I'd recommend downloading some lectures. I struggled with Linear Algebra
before downloading Strang's MIT lectures, and I didn't understand the Dragon
Book before following Coursera's Automata Theory course.

~~~
doorhammer
I have Strang's calc and linear algebra books.

I had a really math light college degree, and never went through calc. It's
always been pretty interesting and seams to show up enough places to warrant
learning it, but I'm awful with time management. I'm bad about not giving
myself consistent blocks of time to work through things. I think I'll give
strang's calc videos another shot.

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tedkalaw
What communities are best for discussing mathematics when learning? As Jeremy
describes in another post ([http://jeremykun.com/2013/02/08/why-there-is-no-
hitchhikers-...](http://jeremykun.com/2013/02/08/why-there-is-no-hitchhikers-
guide-to-mathematics-for-programmers/)), it's really difficult to learn math
without talking to other people. StackExchange seems alright, but are there
other good places to ask questions? Maybe an IRC channel?

~~~
aditgupta
You might find this interesting - <http://functionspace.org/discussion/new>
There is lots of interesting stuff on Math, Physics and Computer Science

P.S -I founded it.

~~~
auvrw
it would be slick if your site could store notes of this sort. perhaps that's
what the articles feature is for?

but what about storing notes mainly intended for personal use and referencing
in discussions? other users could see these by viewing a profile or following
a link in an article or discussion, but such notes wouldn't necessarily appear
under a navbar link.

then, after there was this notion of personal space, there could be a feature
like the github activity tracker (on saturday you pushed 2 definitions and a
lemma), content could be reviewed (so-and-so agrees that this proof is
correct), and these notes could be restructured into discussion topics,
articles, and whatnot.

~~~
aditgupta
We have been working on the notes feature.It should go live within 2 weeks :)

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looki
Thanks - I'm currently studying comp. sci. and we have a linear algebra
courses in the first two semesters - reading this surely won't hurt.

~~~
prezjordan
Linear algebra is great. It wasn't required for my major, but it really
should've been. Definitely check out Salman Khan's videos [0], I found the
KhanAcademy selection for linear algebra to be especially helpful. I took a
grad course titled "Axiomatic Linear Algebra" and even at that level, the
videos were helpful.

[0]: <https://www.khanacademy.org/math/linear-algebra>

~~~
looki
Thanks! These videos do seem quite useful, I'll make sure to check them out.

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auctiontheory
The level seemed mismatched to the audience for a "Primer." I clicked on the
Fourier series link. Anyone who needs a basic explanation of a Fourier series
doesn't know enough mathematics to understand the explanation provided.

Next looked at the Linear Algebra link - another example of making something
much harder than it needs to be. Sorry.

~~~
conradcb
Just as a quick note: I'm a counterexample to the assertion that anyone who
needs a basic explanation of Fourier Series doesn't know enough maths to
understand the primer.

I've got a strong (pure) mathematical background (degree in Maths & Philosophy
from Oxford), and am now doing a PhD in CS, but my degree was entirely pure
maths, and I never did any applied calculus. Admittedly, this isn't a common
background, but one of the joys of writing on the internet is that you can
write for whatever audience you choose!

Jeremy: thanks very much for providing these primers! For me, they've been
great: there are lots of areas of maths which I've not looked at, and for a
while I'd been wanting a good introduction to them which was at the right
level for me: i.e. mathematically clear, without having to go into too much
background, and these have been great at that.

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ninetax
Thanks! That stats stuff looks exactly like what I need. I have been really
disappointed with my current stats class, and I am actively looking for more
computer science related stats stuff. Any suggestions?

I am more looking for places where stats has been applied to CS related
problems, rather than the other way around.

~~~
j2kun
Machine learning sees a lot of stats. See "Elements of Statistical Learning"
[http://www.stanford.edu/~hastie/local.ftp/Springer/OLD//ESLI...](http://www.stanford.edu/~hastie/local.ftp/Springer/OLD//ESLII_print4.pdf)
though it may be more advanced (a graduate student friend of mine is reading
this right now)

~~~
achompas
I would recommend familiarity with linear algebra before cracking EoSL open.

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salimmadjd
Bookmarked! I'm a visual learner and there is not much out there for visual
learners. Just a suggestion :)

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kyllo
Bookmarked. Thanks Jeremy, this seems like an excellent reference. I've been
taking a few Coursera courses on this subject matter, and this will be a good
supplement to that.

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mathattack
As much as people point out things that are missing, I gotta believe that this
does fulfill the "Help me get a job" purpose of the posts.

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porter
I was just looking for something like this the other day. What a great way to
keep the skills sharp.

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dermutch
Wow, really nice! I need to catch up on my math work :-)

