Israel M. Gelfand (1913–2009)

Very educative. Not rote learning, but understanding why math works. I grew up being taught math by memorizing and applying formulas. For some reason, regardless of the latter, I still had affinity to math, particularly probability. That was the only branch not destroyed by the soul crushing application of formulas; you still had to think. This book revamped that feeling towards algebra. It felt uncomfortable at first, not just thinking in terms of a formula. Instead it magnifies that math show more is about finding creative patterns, and how elegant, yet subtle, proving seemingly obvious facts can be.

This was recommended to me as suitable for self-learning. However I do not think it's ideal to learn this book alone, or I'm too stupid. Many problems come without a solution, which is quite annoying if you want verification and an explanation. Luckily there is a PDF with all the solutions floating around on the web, but it's not always thorough or without mistakes. Gelfand does mention that the reader needn't worry if a solution was not found, and that a lot of problems are pretty hard. Nevertheless, I prefer understanding all my mistakes and mathematical sinkholes. Aside from its flaws, this book definitely beats any math curriculum I've had in high school.

PS PM me if you'd like a copy of the PDF if you can't find it. show less

Amazing that this is still in print. I used this in my C of V class 20 years ago.

vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5