I am starting IT studies. As someone always interested in computers I have paths in my head how to get needed information. There is also a luxury of testing anything learn in practice by for ex. contributing to open source or creating a server.
Math was always interesting for me too, but I haven't spend time on learning it much, I have many lacks from middle school and there are topics I know about but can't use them in practice or have no intuition or forgot how to formally write them.
So I started to try to learn, as a self-learner most time I spend on Wikipedia and forums, but those turned out to be death end when it comes to understanding whole topic and not just reminding one thing.
So question to you that are learning math: how do you do so? And I also never learned anything in a typical "school" way, I always need to feel interest or have a goal in something.
This. A thousand times this. Khan Academy is an incredible free resource.
Mathematics major here who is also a part-time mathematics tutor.
This is a question that plagues me too. Math is an absolutely gigantic subject! There’s statistics (probability, etc), combinatorics (counting things), calculus, differential geometry, topology, linear algebra, number theory. The list goes on. And what’s interesting is that they’re all connected! Knowing calculus, for example, can lead you to solve recurrence problems in combinatorics using generating functions, which i always thought was pretty neat. The idea of using the infinite to prove something finite.
My purpose here is not to overwhelm you, but to invite you to a whole new world. I’ve been obsessed with learning about everything in mathematics! I am actually in the opposite problem as you, as a math major transitioning into the tech field. I’ve always thought that learning computers is so much more interactive and hands-on, since you can make and build a project that you can show people. I think this is where you can focus on learning math: making something or building a project that interests you. That, and puzzles. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. You have to read some information, close your book, and put some pen into paper and fill in the gaps. Right now I’m going through Cryptohack puzzles to brush up on my number theory and learn its applications in cryptography.
Book learning is straightforward , but it has to be supplemented with exercises and putting pen into paper. Also, pick one field you’re interested in and stick with it. I hope this helps.
Tbh just buy the textbook and work through it. That's what a lot of my college courses ended up consisting of
Depending on what you want to do in IT, you may not really need any math. If you are going to do programming, then yes, you'll need some advanced math.
Either go with working through textbooks on your own, as has been stated by others, but that approach requires tons of discipline as the subject matter can get quite dry and frustrating at times. Or, I'd say ideally, enroll in courses at a local community college. The one I went to had four calculus classes, linear algebra and differential equations, along with statistics and I believe some kind of math programming course (my have just been part of other classes). So you cab get into fairly advanced stuff going that route.
If you want to learn even more after that, you'll have a solid basis to continue self study. Hell, you might even have a good start towards a bachelor's in math.
Take a look at Engineering Mathematics by KA Stroud. It has a step-by-step approach with worked examples that might be useful to you. Even if you don't like the structure, it'll at least give you a comprehensive list of topics.
I really like Brilliant. It is really clear and interactive, the only real negative is the price.
