<p>I have tried out the OCW material in calculus and physics I& II,and python.cheap.Am now self studying Rudin’s Principles of Mathematical Analysis.Now that is interesting stuff.Am still shaky with proof writing</p>
<p>^^ Villager, in my experience, learning linear algebra is a better way to learn how to write proofs. The reason is that analysis (the basics) begins with a careful development of the theory of the real numbers from basic principles, and the power of it almost completely arises from the foundational nature. The intuition is generally clear and not hard, but to someone shaky with proof-writing, Rudin is especially useless.</p>
<p>That is, purely in terms of pedagogy, learning how to write formally from a subject that is formal by nature is better than learning to do so from a subject that is intuitive.</p>
<p>Oh,ok.I actually had a copy of Axler’s Linear Algebra Done Right.It is decent.i was not quite sure whether to use it first or go ahead with Rudin.Thank you for the insight.</p>
<p>That, in my own opinion, is a better bet indeed - mainly because of the whole thing about learning to formally manipulate something more intrinsically formal. </p>
<p>Also villager, my personal suggestion - before you get immersed in math, try some reasonably serious physics too. I think as you get older, your resistance to spending serious time on stuff outside your immediate comfort increases. I remember reading a bunch of these math books in high school, and wish I poked around other subjects more.</p>
<p>The key difference is that physics is the kind of subject you have to really do to start getting the intuition, and it’s of a different nature, which is harder to dive into once you’re far down another path.</p>
<p>I was originally drawn to physics,but then i could not seem to understand Quantum Mechanics because of a weak math background.But,when i got into Math and CS, i sort of switched off the physics.Can physics ,or physical intuition help me become a better mathematician or computer scientist?</p>
<p>A basic understanding of quantum mechanics books probably requires linear algebra. </p>
<p>You don’t need physical intuition for math or CS, but it kind of depends what you want to do. Mathematics obviously interacts with physics (you’ve seen this happen), and indeed, it is not unheard of for physical intuition to lead to a breakthrough in mathematics, when one might expect the relation happens the other way around! Now this is the most glamorous sort of result of having multiple kinds of intuition…</p>
<p>My suggestion is made from a more humble perspective, in the sense that I think you’ll feel very good about how you spent your time if you develop intuition in physics too, and you may find it possible to have it interact with the other kinds. You are at an early enough stage of education, presumably, to actually pull this off without the pressure from finishing college requirements and graduating. Early college and late high school is a great time to start exposing yourself to different things, I think.</p>
<p>Who knows, you may find you prefer physics - after all, you’ve hardly seen any math, physics, or CS, very likely, as compared to what you’ll see in your years of college, and the most important thing is developing the confidence and desire to try things out in the future. Obviously you don’t have to do any of this, but you might find it makes you happy :)</p>
<p>Yeah, EECS was a boring field that I totally would never get into… </p>
<p>And then I came to MIT :)</p>
<p>@Mathboy98,i see your point.Thank you</p>
<p>lol you guys totally took over this thread</p>
<p>so would everyone pretty much agree that hard work is more important than raw intell in mit, and that even people who don’t qualify for AIME can become ok engineers since MIT teaches people problem solving skills?</p>
<p>Yes. Hard work is the most important thing.</p>
<p>But another thing that doesn’t get said enough is that having the right approach is also important. If you’re having trouble with say, 8.01, that is pretty common. The best thing to do is ask friends to help you understand concepts, go to office hours, etc. to figure out what you can do to study more efficiently. Absolutely do not just say “I’ve got to try harder” and burn yourself out.</p>
<p>there is always course 15.</p>
<p>… or 7. link to the chorallaries: </p>
<p>[MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: “MIT is hard”](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/learning/majors_minors/mit_is_hard.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/learning/majors_minors/mit_is_hard.shtml)</p>