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Good math books?

Name: Anonymous 2007-05-06 17:21 ID:Y7llkwmq

Okay here's the story,
I always loved maths, but for some reasons i dropped out of school.
Now at 22 i want to start studying maths again, but i do not know where to start from..

tl;rd suggest me some books that cover the basics and the advanced stuff of mathematics, algebra and geometry.

Name: d 2007-05-07 6:43 ID:otjOvDPf

You will never succeed at learning advanced mathematics without attending a university, no matter how smart you are. Here's why:

* Maths books are a didactic nightmare for people learning on their own.
* It's impossible to do exercises without knowing "tricks" that they teach at universities. These "tricks" aren't written down anywhere, because it's silently assumed that anyone interested will simply attend the relevant courses.
* Mathematics is hard. Without peers to exchange advice and the pressure of exams, you will learn very, very slowly and only through great effort. This might not sound so bad now, but one day you'll regret that you didn't spend the time fucking hot bitches or building your own personal empire, or whatever.
* Learning mathematics on your own is useless. Nobody will ever ask you to give an example of a contravariant functor, and if the world economy collapses, you're better off with a tin opener than a thesis on unbounded operators.
* It won't help you in life. Without academic credentials, the jobs you'll find will be the same as now. Fantasize about employers asking you trick maths questions all you like, it won't happen. Without access to the academic community, it will be very difficult to find people who appreciate knowledge of mathematics. So know you how to integrate on locally compact groups, but what kind of car do you drive?

Still not convinced? Buy (the hardcover version of) _The Principles Of Mathematical Analysis_. This is your new Bible - it's used all over the world and is absolutely perfect, and very hard. You'll have to read a lot of other books to understand it. But when you finish, when you understand it and can do most of the exercises, you can start calling yourself a mathematician. No other book can give you that.

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