Schaum's outlines
by Seymour Lipschutz · first published 2018
67% recommend33% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Concise, no-frills subject reviews followed by many worked problems. Bare-bones refreshers and problem sources for math and physics courses.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…https://math.stackexchange.com (note: but not so much Mathoverflow, which is more for research level Maths and is not a good place for straight up "do my homework" style questions at all) And if one is willing to pay a bit, the Schaum's Outlines books and similar books provide a huge catalog of worked problems, along with problems and solutions. There's also Brilliant.org and other paid educational resources for Maths that can supplement ones…
on “Why won’t anyone teach me math?” ↗Schaum's Outlines are usually a good source of cheap (~$15) "cut the crap" textbook alternatives. Brief explanations, then many worked problems, then more problems with answers elsewhere.
on “Ask YC: Self Teach Videos” ↗…an intuition level (I'd like to do the complicated math), so I have Feynman, Dirac, et al. What I like about Khan material is the brevity, but that doesn't work for all subjects. In the book department Schaum's Outlines for Stuff tend to fit my style well; I like having worked examples so I can pick up the patterns. If only I could just implant knowledge into myself with a chip-to-brain interface as in the Matrix! If…
on “Yes, The Khan Academy is the Future of Education” ↗…years. The most frustrating thing will be going through basics that don't seem connected to your eventual goal of ML; this is potentially a long phase. I'd recommend Khan Academy for the math basics. Schaum's Outlines series for lots of worked problems. I'd recommend Strang's MIT OCW videos and books for Linear Algebra. I first learned calculus from an economics book, probably best not repeated ;). Bishop's PRML book…
on “How to Get a Job in Deep Learning” ↗I'll second this idea having survived a Physics BS doing just this. I'd also strongly recommend a series of books called Schaum's Outlines, they vary in quality but cover many advanced topics and have hundreds of solved problems in them.
on “Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?” ↗…practice, and more practice will make you faster and more able to do the test problems. You may not have a physical text book or you may not like the text in which case look for additional books to use. Schaum's Outlines for Calculus at various levels are good sources of problems to practice on and they have the answers to all problems in the back. Do every problem you can and get help to understand the one's that stump…
on “What is the MIT style of teaching calculus?” ↗…say whether this or that is true or false. In other words, proofs can serve the same function as repetitive problem-solving exercises, and are often given as exercises for that reason. I'm a fan of the Schaum's Outlines series of books just for the sheer amount of exercises available in them, I just wish I had better self-discipline to actually do more exercises. Though they maybe aren't the best resources for a brand-new…
on “So you want to study mathematics” ↗…the purpose of the textbook isn't for the problem sets, then there are likely inexpensive or free (by author or by copyright expiration) books that are fine for the other purpose. (I have a liking for Schaum's Outlines that cover a nice spread of topics.) I'd add that if cheating is a concern (whether from using books whose solution set is easily available, or using in-house solution sets that don't update with each…
on “Supreme Court sides with student in case over textbooks” ↗…ah-ha moments when discussing fundamental concepts of linear algebra, number theory, complex numbers etc. The two best books I have ever found on teaching Complex Numbers are: 1) Bak and Newman 2) Schaum's Outlines They actually give you the understanding and ceeling behind WHY analytic functions are the way they are, and derive holomorphic functions from that. Imho a more terrible approach is that of Serge Lang…
on “Why do many math books have so much detail and so little enlightenment? (2010)” ↗Reminds me of the old Schaum's Outlines, I still have a couple of them on the book shelf from college days, saved my bacon many times.
on “Mathematics all-in-one cheat-sheet (2013) [pdf]” ↗For calculus, I like this book [1] for self-study. Also the Schaum's Outlines are great no-nonsense introductions. They're both gentle introductions, while still being useful. For probability, I really like Morin's book [2]. It starts really basic (like, super basic), but builds…
on “What Are Diffusion Models?” ↗https://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Elementary-Mathematic... Schaum's Outlines are like that "Learn X in Y Minutes" site for school subjects. They give the clearest, most bare bones explanation so you can quickly identify gaps. I had the college algebra book for the required math…
on “Ask HN: I suck at math, where to start?” ↗Schaum's Outline of Complex Variables, 2ed (Schaum's Outlines) 2nd Edition by Murray R Spiegel, Seymour Lipschutz, John J. Schiller Jr., Dennis Spellman https://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Complex-Variables-2ed...
on “Ask HN: Good material for a gentle introduction to calculus with complex numbers?” ↗The Forest Mims books are good for learning electronics. They used to be very popular with Radio Shack hobbyists. I used these and the many Schaum’s Outlines as additional resources when studying for my EE degree. These are easier to digest. If you are feeling a little more adventurous, the ARRL books for hams are also good. Good luck and enjoy.
on “Ask HN: Where to start for hobby circuit design” ↗…textbooks present the material as "here's the core" and "here's some other stuff" but I've mostly seen that for advanced texts -- books for high-level undergrad & grad classes. Compare something like Schaum's Outlines to an undergraduate text for the same material for an example of what I mean. The outlines are pretty pruned down. edit: just to add one more thought: we read all the time about "opinionated software."…
on “Lectures Aren't Just Boring, They're Ineffective, Too” ↗