HACKER Q&A
📣 ggr2342

Which books are the best to self study proof based math?


The aim is to understand books on proof based calculus, analysis, linear algebra, probability, etc.

Mathematical logic has confusing things like exchanging position of quantifiers changing meaning of entire statements, etc.

Where to learn the language of mathematics (suitable for self study) so that I can read other serious math books and topics?



👤 b0afc375b5
I have a similar goal as you. Initially I tried reading "How to Prove It: A Structured Approach" but I only got so far, mostly because I decided to prioritize upskilling and getting a new job first.

There's also a relevant hackernews post[0], and one of the suggestions there was "Proofs: A Long Form Textbooks by Jay Cummings".

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31800081



👤 atomicnature
As an amateur, I have heard differing opinions on this topic, but I quite enjoyed working through the "Software Foundations" book: https://softwarefoundations.cis.upenn.edu/.

This book uses the Coq proof assistant to work through simple example proofs. If you stick with it for a while, the puzzle of finding proofs and getting instantaneous feedback from the assistant becomes quite an enjoyable process.