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To: ConjunctionJunction

About your son....in 1985 I was given the chance to return to college to take what I wanted to take: Electrical Engineering. I’d been working 3 jobs for 12 years since high school to make ends meet and NOT studying math and now found I’d be pitted against some of the best of the best, hot shots just out of high school advanced classes. You may want to try this with your son but he HAS TO be motivated to do it(i.e. want it badly!). Youtube did not exist, nor did internet....hardly.

1. Purchased Schuams Pre-Calculus book, The Problem Solver Pre-Calculus book, and a couple of others used in the best high schools in the area. Spent 4 to 6 hours a day forcing myself through ALL of those books, working problems, checking answers, teaching myself. Review of algebra helps.

After that:
2. Purchased a few Schuams Calculus books, The Problem Solver Calculus book, and a book suggested by a genius physics prof(Teacher of the Year at every place he worked), Dr. David Derbes)...Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson. Also got a couple of older Calculus texts out of the college library and kept renewing them all semester. Again, spent 3 to 6 hours PER DAY going through those to “get sharp” and catch up. Got VERY LUCKY and, besides Dr. Derbes for physics, another genius appeared as my Engineering Calculus instructor for 2 semesters: Dr. Gary Sod. Both of those instructors inspired us to LOVE to learn, showed us what was important, and shared enthusiasm for math and physics.

The above method, work, and 2 great teachers let me graduate 7th in my class(Freshman EE’s 300, Senior EE’s 27 left). Would not have made a 32+ year career with the above happening or the work put into it.

Good luck. He has to “be hungry” and “want to do it” to get through the math and become a closet math lover. For higher math, he may want to look into Oliver Heaviside. He had no college degree but was a math wizard who simplified complex math into algebra allowing many “impossible” problems to be tackled. All of his books are in my library.

I’ll put links in the next post.


66 posted on 12/08/2021 11:39:50 AM PST by JCL3 (As Richard Feynman might have said, this is reality taking precedence over public relations.)
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To: JCL3

Precalculus:
The Schaum’s “Outline” series and “Solved Problems” are the better ones. I avoided “Dummy” series as I did not desire even thinking about calling myself that.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Schuam%27s+pre-calculus&ref=nb_sb_noss

REA Problem Solvers for Pre-Calculus: not inexpensive, possibly try used bookstores and/or eBay.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Problem+Solvers+pre-calculus&ref=nb_sb_noss

Calculus:
Schuams: even have 1 with a video included.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=schaums+calculus&crid=2Q56Y98T1LVAI&sprefix=Schuams+calculus%2Caps%2C262&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_16
Problem Solvers:
If he has to take math above Calc 1 and Calc 2, the Problem Solver Differential Equation book is useful.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Problem+Solvers+calculus&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Calculus Made Easy
This is the one I used
https://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Made-Easy-Silvanus-Thompson/dp/0312114109/
Newer edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Made-Easy-2020-New/dp/B08QLSWHYY/

Oliver Heaviside:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Oliver+Heaviside&i=stripbooks

Dr. Derbes, physics prof I had, pointed out many “smart” folks to us in his lectures including Richard Feynman, the guy who simplified the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster by placing a piece of the Morton Thiokol rubber O-ring material into a glass of ice water then removing it and breaking it showing how brittle it got under extreme cold conditions. The launch managers were exposed and the engineers they ignored were vindicated. Not listening to your workers input is a bad idea no matter where you are in life.
If your son is required to take physics, he may enjoy some of these...I did and still have them.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Richard+Feynman


67 posted on 12/08/2021 12:00:54 PM PST by JCL3 (As Richard Feynman might have said, this is reality taking precedence over public relations.)
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