Burn Math Class: And Reinvent Mathematics for Yourself
A manifesto for a mathematical revolution

Forget everything you've been taught about math. In Burn Math Class, Jason Wilkes takes the traditional approach to how we learn math -- with its unwelcoming textbooks, unexplained rules, and authoritarian assertions-and sets it on fire.

Focusing on how mathematics is created rather than on mathematical facts, Wilkes teaches the subject in a way that requires no memorization and no prior knowledge beyond addition and multiplication. From these simple foundations, Burn Math Class shows how mathematics can be (re)invented from scratch without preexisting textbooks and courses. We can discover math on our own through experimentation and failure, without appealing to any outside authority. When math is created free from arcane notations and pretentious jargon that hide the simplicity of mathematical concepts, it can be understood organically -- and it becomes fun!

Following this unconventional approach, Burn Math Class leads the reader from the basics of elementary arithmetic to various "advanced" topics, such as time-dilation in special relativity, Taylor series, and calculus in infinite-dimensional spaces. Along the way, Wilkes argues that orthodox mathematics education has been teaching the subject backward: calculus belongs before many of its so-called prerequisites, and those prerequisites cannot be fully understood without calculus.

Like the smartest, craziest teacher you've ever had, Wilkes guides you on an adventure in mathematical creation that will radically change the way you think about math. Revealing the beauty and simplicity of this timeless subject, Burn Math Class turns everything that seems difficult about mathematics upside down and sideways until you understand just how easy math can be.
1122751013
Burn Math Class: And Reinvent Mathematics for Yourself
A manifesto for a mathematical revolution

Forget everything you've been taught about math. In Burn Math Class, Jason Wilkes takes the traditional approach to how we learn math -- with its unwelcoming textbooks, unexplained rules, and authoritarian assertions-and sets it on fire.

Focusing on how mathematics is created rather than on mathematical facts, Wilkes teaches the subject in a way that requires no memorization and no prior knowledge beyond addition and multiplication. From these simple foundations, Burn Math Class shows how mathematics can be (re)invented from scratch without preexisting textbooks and courses. We can discover math on our own through experimentation and failure, without appealing to any outside authority. When math is created free from arcane notations and pretentious jargon that hide the simplicity of mathematical concepts, it can be understood organically -- and it becomes fun!

Following this unconventional approach, Burn Math Class leads the reader from the basics of elementary arithmetic to various "advanced" topics, such as time-dilation in special relativity, Taylor series, and calculus in infinite-dimensional spaces. Along the way, Wilkes argues that orthodox mathematics education has been teaching the subject backward: calculus belongs before many of its so-called prerequisites, and those prerequisites cannot be fully understood without calculus.

Like the smartest, craziest teacher you've ever had, Wilkes guides you on an adventure in mathematical creation that will radically change the way you think about math. Revealing the beauty and simplicity of this timeless subject, Burn Math Class turns everything that seems difficult about mathematics upside down and sideways until you understand just how easy math can be.
20.99 In Stock
Burn Math Class: And Reinvent Mathematics for Yourself

Burn Math Class: And Reinvent Mathematics for Yourself

by Jason Wilkes
Burn Math Class: And Reinvent Mathematics for Yourself

Burn Math Class: And Reinvent Mathematics for Yourself

by Jason Wilkes

eBook

$20.99 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview

A manifesto for a mathematical revolution

Forget everything you've been taught about math. In Burn Math Class, Jason Wilkes takes the traditional approach to how we learn math -- with its unwelcoming textbooks, unexplained rules, and authoritarian assertions-and sets it on fire.

Focusing on how mathematics is created rather than on mathematical facts, Wilkes teaches the subject in a way that requires no memorization and no prior knowledge beyond addition and multiplication. From these simple foundations, Burn Math Class shows how mathematics can be (re)invented from scratch without preexisting textbooks and courses. We can discover math on our own through experimentation and failure, without appealing to any outside authority. When math is created free from arcane notations and pretentious jargon that hide the simplicity of mathematical concepts, it can be understood organically -- and it becomes fun!

Following this unconventional approach, Burn Math Class leads the reader from the basics of elementary arithmetic to various "advanced" topics, such as time-dilation in special relativity, Taylor series, and calculus in infinite-dimensional spaces. Along the way, Wilkes argues that orthodox mathematics education has been teaching the subject backward: calculus belongs before many of its so-called prerequisites, and those prerequisites cannot be fully understood without calculus.

Like the smartest, craziest teacher you've ever had, Wilkes guides you on an adventure in mathematical creation that will radically change the way you think about math. Revealing the beauty and simplicity of this timeless subject, Burn Math Class turns everything that seems difficult about mathematics upside down and sideways until you understand just how easy math can be.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780465073818
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 03/22/2016
Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format: eBook
Pages: 400
File size: 35 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jason Wilkes holds an MS in mathematical physics and an MA in psychology. He is currently a graduate student in evolutionary psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Table of Contents

Act I
1. Ex Nihilo
Interlude 1: Dilating Time
2. The Infinite Power of the Infinite Magnifying Glass
Interlude 2: How to Get Something from Nothing
3. As if Summoned from the Void
Interlude 3: A Backward Look to the Future

Act II
4. On Circles and Giving Up
Interlude 4: The Nostalgia Device
5. Aesthetics and the Immovable Object
Interlude 5: Two Clouds

Act III
6. Two in One
Interlude 6: Slaying Sharp
N. New is Old
Interlude N: (Mis)interpreted (Readings) (Re)interpreted
Aleph. The Infinite Beauty of the Infinite Wilderness
Chapterlude Omega: In Nihilo
Dictionary

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews