Top critical review
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3.0 out of 5 starsCliff's Notes for HS/College math you've forgotten or are currently studying
ByMC01on April 6, 2018
This is essentially a condensed desk reference for basic HS/college math & physics topics.
If I still had (I don't) and decided to organize, print & bind all my old HS/college math and physics notes, the result would be something like this. Seems good if you're looking to refresh concepts you've previously learned, or to quickly reference topics from a class.
Not sure yet how well it works for introducing a totally new concept to someone who's unfamiliar with it. It seems a bit light on conceptual details and "first principles", and mostly just says what stuff is by definition. For example, it might jump from 1 form of a polynomial to its factors w/o explaining that step - you're just supposed to recognize that's what happened and know what it did.
The text & examples are ok so far - some hit & miss. The appendix in the back is a nice quick reference - if you've forgotten the "Big G" gravitational constant, or what a "Newton" or the speed of light are (and you actually have some reason to care), then this is a handy place to look it up. Of course, you could just as easily Google most of what's in here and get a similar response.
The font is rather tiny, especially in the graphs & illustrations, making them a bit hard to read. This was "printed on demand" but the paper quality is ok. The cover of mine showed up a little bent, but overall this will be fine to sit on a shelf until I need to look up some math or physics thing I've forgotten how to do, or have kids old enough to want to know those things. Not so much a "read it cover to cover" kind of book, as far as I can tell so far.
I also have to say I love the author's perspective on getting rid of overpriced & deliberately confusing/crappy textbooks! This purchase was worth it if only to support that mission. I got this one kind of on a whim along w/the "Linear Algebra" title that I originally wanted. College textbooks on these topics would cost $100s for pretty much the same information, so in that regard this is a better purchase.