MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - What's the best device for a math graduate student?

brecklundin · 12-07-2007, 03:50 AM

Here is a 2nd about getting bogged down managing the technology when you need to be learning the topics at hand.

If you are looking for a way to better keep-up with the lecture and changes of the equations....I can offer what is a great working suggestion I got while auditing an undergrad major course from one of my grad professors...use COLORED PENCILS...this turned out to be especially useful when taking notes in class or when tutoring a student. At the time we were focused on solving systems of differential equations using Bessel functions, Legendre polynomials and whatever substitutions and reducing them down to recurrence relations. Well, if one tried to rewrite the whole equation with each substitution we would never have finished on solution in a single lecture...our prof. even used colored chalk to help...

That might have been the single best trick I ever learned getting my math degrees...I used it from then on is ALL my math courses where I actually needed to take notes. It was surprising how few courses ever really required I took notes. Paying attention and being prepared for class is the BEST trick to getting a degree in mathematics...once you see a trick/technique for solving a problem you will not forget it...so focus on the theory and the solutions will work their way to the top...then again my background is NOT applied mathematics...I am strictly theoretical as a preference...never cared what the equations were for just that I can find a solution.

I used it in other courses too when it seemed to make sense...still use it in a way for coding/debugging but with markers to isolate loops and other structures...these old-eyes = see crap nuttin' anymore...

The BEST method for learning advance mathematics is a pad and a pencil...in this case consider adding a full set of colored pencils to let you track the changes made during the lecture. Later when you rewrite your notes you can do the "one change/line" discipline.

You might also look into what your university math department recommends in terms of software...they might even have a special license that allows students in the major to install a copy free...

But really, stick to pad and pencils for note taking...

12-07-2007, 03:50 AM	#13
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	Here is a 2nd about getting bogged down managing the technology when you need to be learning the topics at hand. If you are looking for a way to better keep-up with the lecture and changes of the equations....I can offer what is a great working suggestion I got while auditing an undergrad major course from one of my grad professors...use COLORED PENCILS...this turned out to be especially useful when taking notes in class or when tutoring a student. At the time we were focused on solving systems of differential equations using Bessel functions, Legendre polynomials and whatever substitutions and reducing them down to recurrence relations. Well, if one tried to rewrite the whole equation with each substitution we would never have finished on solution in a single lecture...our prof. even used colored chalk to help... That might have been the single best trick I ever learned getting my math degrees...I used it from then on is ALL my math courses where I actually needed to take notes. It was surprising how few courses ever really required I took notes. Paying attention and being prepared for class is the BEST trick to getting a degree in mathematics...once you see a trick/technique for solving a problem you will not forget it...so focus on the theory and the solutions will work their way to the top...then again my background is NOT applied mathematics...I am strictly theoretical as a preference...never cared what the equations were for just that I can find a solution. I used it in other courses too when it seemed to make sense...still use it in a way for coding/debugging but with markers to isolate loops and other structures...these old-eyes = see crap nuttin' anymore... The BEST method for learning advance mathematics is a pad and a pencil...in this case consider adding a full set of colored pencils to let you track the changes made during the lecture. Later when you rewrite your notes you can do the "one change/line" discipline. You might also look into what your university math department recommends in terms of software...they might even have a special license that allows students in the major to install a copy free... But really, stick to pad and pencils for note taking...