Should science majors study Apostol?

ririri123
Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:21:53 +0000

You’re not missing out timing-wise compared to other schools. At Caltech, the first year’s courses cover basic rigorous set theory all the way through multivariate calculus. After the first term of rigor in Ma1a, you have the choice between an ‘analytical’ or ‘practical’ track for the rest of the freshman year. In the practical track you cover the same computationally-oriented linear algebra and multivariate calculus as you would at other schools, with the added rigorous background from the first class. It’s not just about the mathematical rigor, but about being precise and thinking critically, skills that all scientists should have (This is why we use Apostol for an introductory class)