Quoting a relatively famous mathematician, linear algebra is one of the few branches of math we’ve really truly understood. It’s very, very well behaved
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Liz@midwest.social 4 months agoCalculus is intuitive and sexy. Linear algebra, on the other hand…
kogasa@programming.dev 4 months ago
AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 4 months ago
I’ve not heard that quote, who said it?
kogasa@programming.dev 4 months ago
It wouldn’t have been published, and he’s only relatively famous if you’re a topologist, but it was Charlie Frohman. Not that it must carry the same weight for you, but I value his insight highly, even if it’s just a quip.
pivot_root@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Hard disagree. Linear algebra can make pretty shapes and colors from a bunch of vertices, while calculus can make you want to quit school and become a plumber.
AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 4 months ago
I have learned linear algebra in a few different contexts now, and each one I learned made it easier. When I first learned it, it was in a pure maths context and I found it tricky. It began to make more sense in university, when I learned it in the context of x-ray crystallography. I think more so than most topics, linear algebra really needs the context of it’s usefulness for it to really make sense, but also, I think I’d have struggled with the x-ray crystallography if I hadn’t already got a grounding in linear algebra from a pure maths angle.
Liz@midwest.social 4 months ago
Yeah I got zero context when I learned linear algebra and it seems everyone here that loves it is pointing to something outside the math itself for why. My brain only knows it as a bunch of nonsense matrix rules you gotta memorize.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Ok yeah that sounds awful. I was taught it by an engineer and it was great
AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Number Theory can fuck right off.
Johandea@feddit.nu 4 months ago
Statistics truly is god’s work. The petty, sadistic, contradictory god of the bible, that is.
trashgirlfriend@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Linear algebra? What about liminal algebra
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Linear algebra was so much easier. It’s just vectors
flerp@lemm.ee 4 months ago
I love linear algebra! It’s one of the coolest and most satisfying maths (for me personally)
pivot_root@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Try playing around with GLSL shaders! They’re a fun application of linear algebra and have a satisfyingly quick feedback time.
kurwa@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I agree! That was the one class I took where it just all made sense for me.