Do any of you all have some tips for understanding mathematical notation? I feel this is often poorly explained, and it feels like a language all its own that just does not speak to me. I did pretty well in calculus, but I still don't really understand what the dx was supposed to represent and in reality I was just really good at pattern matching when it wasn't supposed to be there anymore.
I try to read papers now and again with a math orientation, and I quickly get lost when trying to translate the concepts into cryptic formulas, and often when they make the "obvious" transition from step 3 to step 4 I just have no idea how they got there.
I feel this is by far my biggest barrier to understanding most mathematics, and I have thus far found no way to overcome it.
I try to read papers now and again with a math orientation, and I quickly get lost when trying to translate the concepts into cryptic formulas, and often when they make the "obvious" transition from step 3 to step 4 I just have no idea how they got there.
I feel this is by far my biggest barrier to understanding most mathematics, and I have thus far found no way to overcome it.