Skip to main content

How to Read Mathematics

Popularity Report

Total Popularity Score: 0

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

Rank

Groups (2)

Related Lists

Bookmark History

Saved by 22 people (4 private), first by anonymouse user on 2006-06-23


Public Comment

on 2006-07-15 by jaydugger

categorizes some strategies for a mathematics reading protocol

Public Sticky notes

A reading protocol is a set of strategies that a reader must use in order to benefit fully from reading the text. Poetry calls for a different set of strategies than fiction, and fiction a different set than non-fiction. It would be ridiculous to read fiction and ask oneself what is the author's source for the assertion that the hero is blond and tanned; it would be wrong to read non-fiction and not ask such a question.  This reading protocol extends to a viewing or listening protocol in art and music. Indeed, much of the introductory course material in literature, music and art is spent teaching these protocols.

Highlighted by joel

The beauty in a novel is in the aesthetic way it uses language to evoke emotions and present themes which defy precise definition. The beauty in a mathematics article is in the elegant efficient way it concisely describes precise ideas of great complexity.

Highlighted by joel

Don't assume that understanding each phrase, will enable you to understand the whole idea. This is like trying to see a painting by staring at each square inch of it from the distance of your nose. You will get the detail, texture and style but miss the picture completely. A math article has a story!  Try to see what the story is before you delve into the details. You can go in for a closer look once you have a framework to fill with details, just as you might reread a novel.

Highlighted by joel

The best way to understand what you are reading is to make the idea your own. This means following the idea back to its origin, and rediscovering it for yourself. Mathematicians often say that to understand something you must first read it, then write it down in your own words, then teach it to someone else. Everyone has a different set of tools and a different level of “chunking up” complicated ideas. Make the idea fit in with your own perspective and experience.

Highlighted by joel

Most math books are written with assumptions about the audience: that they know certain things, that they have a certain level of "mathematical maturity", etc. Before you start to read, make sure you know what the author expects you to know.

Highlighted by joel