Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell
by George Finlay Simmons · first published 1997
91% recommend9% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Concise review of geometry, algebra and trigonometry, with brief explanations and many exercises. It helps refresh the basics, prepare for calculus, or fill gaps, and suits both adults and teens.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell by George Finlay Simmons is one I go back to from time to time to make sure I have mastery of basic math. Someone gave it to me in high school. It’s a tiny book but powerful. It helped me a prepare…
on “Ask HN: The book that did it for you in math and/or CS?” ↗…Equations. Focus on understanding single-variable only and ignore everything else in the beginning. You will find the following resources most helpful. 1) First refresh the basics from George Simmons' Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell : Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry (it is less than 150 pages!) - https://archive.org/details/precalculusmathe00geor (pdfs are available elsewhere on the web) In particular; read the Trigonometry section…
on ““When are we going to use this in our everyday life?” (2017)” ↗…similar situation about a year ago and while I've made a lot of progress I still have a long way to go. Here's what I've found useful: Precalculus, Coursera, https://www.coursera.org/course/precalculus "Precalculus Mathematics In A Nutshell", George F. Simmons, http://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Mathematics-Nutshell-Geome... "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Calculus", Michael Spivak, http://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Calculus-Michael-Spi...…
on “Ask HN: How or where to begin learning mathematics from first principles?” ↗You're not alone. I did the same in my mid-40's. A great book for brushing up/re-learning pre-calc is "Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell"[0] by George F. Simmons (you can find it used cheap). He really boils it down to the essentials. For example here's how he opens his chapter on Trig: "Most trigonometry textbooks have been written by…
on “Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf]” ↗…logic courses on Brilliant.org * Smullyan's Introduction to Logic * Balakrishnan's Introduction to Discrete Mathematics * For a bracingly irreverent "skip the bullshit" perspective, George Simmons' Precalculus Mathematics In A Nutshell * The A-Levels A* prep sequence from Imperial College London, available on edX (this is actually roughly equivalent to a first year undergrad curriculum at US unis) General advice: * Practice, practice,…
on “Ask HN: How to learn math from zero for adults?” ↗Every student should read the following preparatory to "Higher Maths"; * Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry by George Simmons - Not a word wasted in less than 150 pages. * Functions and Graphs by I.M.Gelfand et.al. - A must read (again, less than 150 pages) to build graphical…
on “Ask HN: Math books you recommend just for the way they are written?” ↗Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell, by George Finlay Simmons I found the explanations for the geometry part excellent. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8012300M/Precalculus_mathema...
on “Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?” ↗For a younger age group (13-15 maybe), George F. Simmons’ “Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell” (https://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Mathematics-Nutshell-Geom...) is quite good though might require a bit of help to grasp. It features lots of exercises and a quite decent explanations for the age…
on “Ask HN: Good sources of math exercises for ~10-17 y/o?” ↗…approached in two ways; 1) For understanding 2) For techniques of usage. The above books help with (1). Textbooks focus on (2). A very good succinct (< 150 pages!) introductory text for (2) is George Simmons' Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry. It is available at https://github.com/enilsen16/The-Math-Group One word of advice; most people's phobia of mathematics arises from not knowing/understanding the notation.…
on “Six Math Essentials” ↗Take a look a Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell for a quick review. You'll be surprised how much stuff you forgot already! Then you can move to a discrete math book like Discrete Mathematics with Applications or Mathematics for Computer Science (free…
on “Ask HN: Learn Math the Hard Way” ↗Simmons - Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell [0] (128 page booklet) [0] https://books.google.com/books?id=dN1KAwAAQBAJ
on “Mathematics for the Adventurous Self-Learner” ↗I found Precalculus Mathematics In A Nutshell by Simmons to be extremely valuable (as someone who got so stressed out by my maths teachers in primary school that I literally was not able to add up in my head until the age of 14). It teaches the…
on “The Textbook That Unleashed Ramanujan's Genius” ↗Had to do a Calculus course in uni despite not having taken any calc or pre-calc in high school. "Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell" and "Calculus Made Easy" were complete lifesavers.
on “Ask HN: Math books that made you significantly better at math?” ↗> I need to go back to the basics and work my way up; I've lost a lot of it. Where do I start? One very good place to start is Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry by George F. Simmons (less than 150 pages!).
on “Proof You Can Do Hard Things” ↗…also attributed with the quote: "The harder I practice, the luckier I get." Perhaps that's why it was on ESPN. Pretty sure George Simmons has this quote of Player's on one of the chapter pages in his "Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell" book.
on “What if successful startups are just lucky?” ↗