I AM RUBBISH AT MATHS

I suck at Maths. I make horrendous mistakes in simple addition and multiplication. It's been forty years since I was taught any of this stuff so if I'm to avoid confusion in Calculus I shall have to do my sums correctly first.

So here we go with the basics of Mathematics using various resources around the web.

First here are some lectures on background material. I advise anyone who has had trouble with Maths to take a look at one or all of them. I'm doing it because I adopt the idea that the more background information I have about a subject the better I will be able to understand the abstract material in the work books. My thinking is that the mind needs a series of "pegs" on which to hang new information.

These lectures and videos give me some "pegs" and then the dry material seems a little less daunting. Also I will include straight out explanations of the material at hand.

BACKGROUND VIDEOS FOR BASICS MATHS

A PRIVATE UNIVERSE - Video


With its famous opening scene at a Harvard graduation, this classic of education research brings into sharp focus the dilemma facing all educators: Why don’t even the brightest students truly grasp basic science concepts?

SUPRISES IN MIND - Video

Many people — in and out of school — find mathematics frustrating, difficult, even impossible. This documentary uncovers a surprise: Mathematical creativity — expressed in art, architecture, and music and valued by industry — is built into the brain and can flourish under the right conditions.


(Though it deals with science it is still a must see so that you can examine the barriers to learning, ask yourself "what is the nature of your private universe?"

NB:this video requires registration, but it's free. If you have firefox and it doesn't load the video, try Netscape it works on my Mac)


4000 YEARS OF NUMBERS - Video

Professor Robin Wilson lecture given on 07/11/2007

How did numbers arise? How were they written down? What does it mean to say that numbers are rational, complex, or transcendental? What is a number, anyway, and why did it take thousands of years to provide an answer?

INDIAN MATHS - Audio

Mathematics from the Indian subcontinent has provided foundations for much of our modern thinking on the subject. They were thought to be the first to use zero as a number. Our modern numerals have their roots there too. And mathematicians in the area that is now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were grappling with concepts such as infinity centuries before Europe got to grips with it. There’s even a suggestion that Indian mathematicians discovered Pythagoras’ theorem before Pythagoras.

Real Player for Windows

Real Player for other platforms


PRACTICAL LECTURES

Chapter 1: The Whole Numbers

Chapter 1.1: Tips for Success in Mathematics
Chapter 1.2: Place Value and Names for Numbers
Chapter 1.3: Adding Whole Numbers
Chapter 1.4: Subtracting Whole Numbers
Chapter 1.5: Rounding and Estimating
Chapter 1.6: Multiplying Whole Numbers
Chapter 1.7: Dividing Whole Numbers
Chapter 1.8: An Introduction to Problem Solving
Chapter 1.9: Exponents and Order of Operations

LOUIS ANTHONY AST
http://videomathtutor.com/

Lesson 1: Numbers - Part 1

This lesson consists of providing you with a Self-Tutorial about the classification and sets of numbers. Learn what are natural numbers, integers, rational numbers and more. I also explain how to use your graphing calculator to input all types of numbers (integers, fractions, square roots, etc.).