At the very start of the book:
> It has been said that “God invented the integers, all else is the work of Man.” This is a mistranslation. The term “integers” should actually be “whole numbers.” The concepts of zero and negative values seem (to many people) to be unnatural constructs.
It is not a mistranslation. In German "ganze zahlen" actually means "integers". It is just if you translate it word for word, "ganze" -> "whole", "zahl" -> "number", that you get whole numbers, which would be a mistranslation, because in English whole numbers mean 0, 1, 2, ...
I was prepared to hate this book as much as I've hated any other "introduction" to math, since I've found that mathematicians generally suck at introducing or explaining things. But the first little section that breaks down set notation into plain english was fantastic. That's exactly the kind of thing I need personally, as notation is extremely off-putting and confusing for me.
It's been hugged to death perhaps. The site is also hosted on github here:
The quality of writing in this book is fantastic. If you're studying math or have a recreational interest I really recommend it.
Fearless Symmetry and Elliptic Tales are fascinating, accessible and fun introductions to the art of mathematics.
This looks good. And I have already covered these things.
What are some other resources for learning more Math that are very approachable when studying alone?
Would be nice if we could see experienced mathematicians endorse this, please. It would help to decide whether to put time into it. At first glance it looks really nice.
Are there prints for sale?
Been looking for this!
Seems very student-friendly and accessible which is good. A quick browse shows that it covers Set Theory, Logic and Proofs i.e. the absolute basics for "Modern Mathematics". One of the biggest difficulties for the student i.e "Mathematical Notations" (which are merely a shorthand language) are explained from the ground up which is great.