Request for Collective Wisdom...
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg88463] Request for Collective Wisdom...
- From: "W_Craig Carter" <wcraigcarter at gmail.com>
- Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 06:38:09 -0400 (EDT)
(*Below is a request for suggestions for "hints for beginners. The preface is a bit long-winded" *) I am working on an applied math for physical scientists undergraduate text---I am using Mathematica as the engine to learn and solve problems quickly. I have an appendix that I have been creating (empirically) for a couple years: "Common Mathematica Beginners' Errors." This wasn't difficult. I am now considering how to write another Appendix: "Mathematica Usage Paradigms for Beginners." This one is not as straightforward because it will be a list of short sequences of Mathematica code. The size of the list should be a compromise between length, completeness, and "orthogonality." Some topics are obvious to (subjective) me: work symbolically and with exact representations; scale to remove units when possible; visualize often and when in doubt evaluate as a number; pure functions are power; avoid the outdoors unless you have applied the documentation, lists are your friends... Nota bene, this is a book for undergraduates who have just received the "physics, chemistry, and multivariable calculus" catechism, and (typically) don't appreciate that there are common themes in their education (think back...). (* Punchline: *) I would sincerely appreciate thoughtful (bullet-type) suggestions for paradigms. (off-line or on- as you please). PS: Implicit in this is what a dear friend called "The Homotopy Conjecture." Give me a small working example, and it can deformed into a complicated one for my own purposes. PPS: I expect a small fraction of snarky answers---I won't respond. -- W. Craig Carter
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