As the creator of the Awesome Math resource [1], I'm looking to gather and organize math resources specifically for those who fit this description. If that's you, what are your main challenges? Why does math feel difficult? Do you struggle with math notation, similar to how adult musicians without formal training can find modern music notation difficult? What stops you from picking up a math textbook and working through it? Have you ever tried that? What alternatives to traditional textbooks would work better for you?
If you had to go back to the basics, what level would you start from? High school? Middle school? Elementary school? For example, are you comfortable with elementary algebra [2]—solving linear and quadratic equations, simplifying algebraic expressions with fractions and powers, etc.? If not, is this something you feel you need to master before moving on to more advanced math topics?
If you could have a kind of survival guide before progressing to more advanced resources, what would you want included? What would be unnecessary? What topics would you want clearly explained? Which areas of math would you like covered—linear algebra, calculus, geometry, arithmetic, probability theory, combinatorics, something else? Do you know of any such guides? If you've tried them, what did you like about them, and what could be improved?
Feel free to respond here, but if you'd like to stay in touch as I continue developing this long-term project, please also send me an email (see profile) and let me know what you're interested in. I may reach out again later as I make progress.
[1] https://github.com/rossant/awesome-math
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_algebra
i don't think my math problem is new. i remember after one summer vacation(we used to get one full month break in school during summers) after summer vacation i totally forgot how to do subtraction, i had difficulty subtracting 2 digit numbers. this was around 8th standard.
later this problem came up in other areas, i catch things pretty quickly but forget them faster! so the way i am currently approaching math and other problem solving is i keep in touch with everything very casually by doing minimal practice and this is good enough for me for now whenever i need to jump into more advanced stuff.
plus chatgpt/claude has been a lifesaver in this regard related to concepts but I don't think anything can beat the intuition that comes from practice. I've heard good things about math academy but idk if it'll be good for me as I don't like to do "math" on the computer and don't like quizzes much.
Math classes are often constrained for time because their curricula are mandated by an accreditation institution rather than designed by education experts. I feel that math could be taught less mechanically and with more historical context for the concepts. I've heard that people retain information better when it's paired with a story, so I feel strongly that history should be taught side-by-side with math
I’ve often wondered if it was the material or how it was delivered that I struggled with. I seem to do better at math when there is a piece grounded in reality, like in physics or geometry. I can use that math to build a deck or calculate how fast an object is moving. Computer programming also falls into this category. I start to struggle when the math isn’t representing anything notable, and instead, just letters and relationships between them floating in space.
As a developer that values good naming and readability, I’m surprised that math uses single character variable names like x, y, h, or k, when it could be named what it is representing. I’m going to assume this is something that carried over from pen and paper, but maybe worth the extra writing when learning.
I have a long list of things I’d like to learn, such as speaking other languages and studying crafts outside of software development, but I do often consider going back to take another shot at math beyond intro Calculus.
Thanks for the resources and the goal of helping people like me. I’ll check them out.