It's Easier Than You Think

How do you learn math from the very beginning? What steps do you take starting from nothing? In this video we discuss this and I offer some recommendations.
Some books worth owning.
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Daily Devotionals for Motivation with The Math Sorcerer

Thank you:)

[jeannettestuckelschwaiger]

Im a 77 yrs old gran. I started maths last year with a high school level. I have to say Im enjoying doing this activity, for I can't play golf anylonger.

[timferguson]

Luck is where preparedness and opportunity meet - Seneca

[douglasstrother]

The "easy" part of Math, Physics and Engineering is learning by doing: problem sets, labs, etc.
It's much like learning a sport or playing a musical instrument: at first, you're pretty clumsy, then with practice, you start to "get it". Treat this the same way. Get a textbook and a corresponding Schaum's Outline (for more examples and problems w/solutions) and go at it.

For "Square One", start with good, old Euclidian Geometry. Learn how to do contruction proofs with a straight-edge & compass: it's tangible, visual and will teach you to think "in Math". Then dive into Algebra, Analytic Geometry, Trigonometry & Calculus. Learn how to draw pictures to develop a mathematical intuition.

[tradways]

I have that book! 😁
Awsome encouragement on that!
I am 50. Retired army, finished the A S on intel (army training paid off) and now going after BS in math.
Havent seriously fiddled in 31 years save the odd need for work or curiosity.
I have loved math since age 3 but was scared of my poor foundations.
Busted my ass to get “caught back up”
There are some days, i’ll get completely lost in doing the problems for hours. Other days, i gotta walk away after every problem and come back.
Just keep going. “The proof is in the pursuit”
Failing isnt failure, giving up is failure.

[Mythtongue]

I've been doing math 6 days a week so far for two months. This channel has been so inspiring and has made me love learning math. Thank you so much for your content! ❤

[farttelessstudios]

i just graduated my degree, but it took longer than all of my peers as i was struggling with ADHD (roughly 5 years of my degree). But i made it, and i am currently 23 years old. I dont know how or why this happened, but watching your videos gave me this spark of motivation, convincing myself that hey, if i take this time, the ample free time to study maths, i might be able to. Here's to trying, and i hope i can look back at this comment and say i have made it, like how i saw my diary journal struggling with my ADHD during my degree.

[douglassmith]

Your philosophy on doing at least one problem each day no matter what and being grateful for that is eye opening to me. That was all I needed to hear. Currently taking college algebra at 33 years old and hope to learn calculus for the first time ever, now that I’m getting back into math for the first time since high school. You’ve inspired me a great deal! Thank you

[raybelanger]

Mathematics is a Swiss knife, a tool box to do work. Noam Chomsky once said "The main function of language is not to facilitate communication, it is to formulate thought, an almost explicitly internal use." So if mathematics is a mute language then it is not science, it is an internal tool to formulate thought... and should be learned as such.

[sirrah]

Depending on how low-level your math skills are Khan Academy can be an invaluable resource for its structured approach and straightforward direction. Im preparing to go back to school for computer engineering and months ago started with a few hours a day without the knowledge to do long division. Now, I'm knocking out statistics.

If you don't know where to start, or you fear that youre spoiled for choice with no sense of what's what, being able to say "i'm going to start in 4th grade and work my way up" is massively beneficial.

[bingo]

“I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it” ― Thomas Jefferson.

[matthewa]

Thanks for making this guide. I’m 35 am looking to embark on a mathematical journey. Starting from the very basics. I have a degree which had some math in it (I studied finance) but it wasn’t very advanced math at all. I’ve been trying to read a calculus textbook and realised I don’t have the necessary foundation for this type of study yet. Although a while a go I did some self study on khan academy and got through most of the calculus section on differentiation. But I was basically just regurgitating the logic to solve the problems. I didn’t get a real understanding too much. And besides it looks like khan academy is much more basic than a university course on calculus.

So I’m restarting my math journey and hopefully one day I will gain the equivalent of a math major understanding of math. This is a big ambition but I’m heavily considering it.

It’s a bit of a coincidence that I was looking for basic math books and your video randomly popped into my feed.

Anyway, thanks again, the video was helpful. I’m looking at buying the intermediate algebra book in the near future if I decide to go down this path.

[slicko_di_poo]

"The harder I work, the luckier I get" is a saying South African world champion golfer, Gary Player, from way back, used in an interview where the interviewer brought up the idea that he had a reputation as a "lucky golfer". (I think he said it differently, but that's the gist.) I don't know if he made up the saying or heard it from someone else. He came from a very poor family, so it was difficult to even just get started with playing golf, but what he lacked he tried to make up for with hard work, and succeeded with that.

Interestingly, his brother, Ian Player, worked as a game ranger on one of the then Natal provincial reserves - Umfolozi, I think it was - where the last viable population of Southern White Rhino lived, and became the leader of an ultimately international project to save the species from extinction. If you see a White Rhino today, odds are it's descended from that population. (They even did things like capturing breeding pairs - or potential breeding pairs - and sending them for "safe keeping" in Texas, where there wasn't the poaching problem there was in Africa.) I think he worked even harder than his golfer brother, looking at the old game capture videos of the times. They didn't have knockout darts and vets in helicopters in the early days; they would chase the rhino through the bush in a Land Rover, with a long pole out front, with a noose to lasso them "rodeo style". There are some videos of it around, still. It looked much more like a rodeo than what one would think of as a game capture operation today - which has been refined in all sorts of ways to work much more smoothly and less traumatically to man and beast.

[jimb]

You need to iron out your arithmetic. Draw a number wheel w/ 1 on top & go from 1-9. Use it to drill in plus & multiplication. You need to MASTER the multiplication tables. Look up the nursery songs for the times tables & all the different memory tricks for times. Then make sure you memorize 6*7=42, 6*8=48, 7*8=56. Then do the wheel backwards for minus & division. Then do a lot of long division problems both w remainder & decimals. Then do a lot of fractions. Now you learn decimals & percents. You need to practice these until your hand will start writing out the answers w/o u having to think abt them. One good rabbit hole you might want to go down for curiosity is mental math aka Vedic Math for even quicker arithmetic solving.

The next thing is : if you never want to be scared of word problems again, then learn about rates, ratios & proportions w/ lots of applications. You need to nip that confusion in the bud b/c if u don’t grasp ratios, proportions & rates, they will forever be mathematical thorns in your side.

Now that you have that sturdy bedrock of skills. You can pick up some pre-Algebra or maybe higher up like Math Wizard suggested. You’ll also benefit from some basic ideas from geometry & trigonometry even before starting algebra b/c Algebra constantly refers to problems like areas of circle or Pythagorean theorem etc.
PS
I like what one guy said above abt reading the original Euclid w/a compass & straight edge but I’m pessimistic most amateurs would make progress in Euclid’s elements without a teacher’s guidance unless that math amateur was pretty experienced in classical texts or reading comprehension of technical texts. Like if someone stinks at Math but he has read Plato or Aristotle, then sure, tackle Euclid on your own but if you stink at both, then you’ll need a teacher, course or online resources & commentaries (they exist). One thing you could do is just read Euclid’s propositions without the proofs. If you just assume they are all true & proven already, then you can use those as plain geometrical facts. I myself, though, would like to read the proofs also because it makes theorems much sweeter.

[ajm]

I’m further into my academic journey. I’ve taken up through calculus 3 but I often find my weak spots aren’t with new material, but with gaps in knowledge from past courses. I want to start over learning math from scratch to solidify my foundational concepts. This video was very helpful thank you

[korgond]

Math education is all about the competence of the teacher.
A really good teacher can make math easier for the most students.

[cloey_b]

Hi Sir, I just want to express my appreciation for your advices and all the knowledge you share with us. I'm a physicist, and I really love Mathematics. I feel encouraged by your words to start doing what I know I need to do. I also apply the "it only take 2 weeks" methodology and I share it with my sisters and everyone who needs it. Thank you!

[marytredinnick]

Hi ..I'm studying algebra and I do it by concepts. I use videos and books. One thing I do is take out a blank piece of paper (every so often)and write as much as I know about a concept. This helps me really know what I know and don't know. Then I go back and relearn what I don't know. I also jump around and don't study in a linear way. So...I'd study everything about radicals. Then maybe logs or graphing. I have a BS in PreK through 8th elementary education and Special Education through 12th grade. Im a retired 60 year old and am just doing this for fun! I'm actually more of a creative person so this really challenges my mind. Its soooo rewarding to say...I understood a math problem. Mr. Math Sorcerer inspires me and he gives math a good name!

[herculesrockefeller]

I'm pleased to spot a copy of Earl Swokowski's "Calculus" second edition, over your right shoulder. I used the book in college in 1981, and still have the book, as I liked it a lot.
I've never been that good at math, but find it interesting; when the ideas come together and you understand something, it's so gratifying and beautiful. I wanted to be an architect or engineer, but was not strong enough in math to do either one. Maybe more of your videos will help.

[FlatTopRob]

For myself, humility in saying “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out”.

The benefit is, you’re not the first person discovering or inventing math which means there’s a wealth of free content out there to give you insight. Technology today can give us new perspectives thanks to animation.

Learn to appreciate the basics! Math is all about building blocks, if your base is weak, you’ll struggle to navigate through problems. I started my BS in Math journey by going all the way back to Pre-Algebra and now I’m taking Differential Equations. I wouldn’t be where I am had I not humbled myself and said I don’t know but I’m going to find out.

Never too late! Started my journey at 27, will hit my BS milestone next year with Masters and PhD in my sights. But appreciate the basics, it’s all related.

[maxlouisglaser]

I am in a similar situation, I am self-studying math also aged 24 in hopes of one day soon, crushing the GRE and making it into a computer science program. My math skills are average at best. I am currently studying concrete mathematics for comp sci. I have found that studying alongside a chatbot like Chat Gpt is very helpful. I try to force myself to study for at least 5 minutes every day no matter how tired I am.