- #1
bacte2013
- 398
- 47
Dear Physics Forum personnel,
I am a college sophomore in US with double majors in mathematics and microbiology. I apologize for this sudden interruption but I wrote this email to seek your advice regarding to utilizing multiple textbooks per mathematical field. I always thought that different books offer different perspective and approach to the math subject, and I bought several books for self-studying (and to prepare for a future courses I will take). Currently, I am studying Rudin's PMA, Apostol's MA, and Pugh's RMA for introductory mathematical analysis, and I am also studying Niven, Burton, and Apostol (analytic number theory) for introductory number theory. Those books are truly great textbooks and I have been thoroughly enjoying them but I have few problems...What I am doing is reading a chapter on one book and study similar chapters on other two books. I noticed that those books per subject cover quite similar materials but with different tone and approach. Sometimes, I get confused by their different explanations and proof approach to a given definition and theorem, ultimately causing me a reduced brain concentration. How should I study multiple books per subject? Do I actually need multiple (3~4) textbooks per math subject? Should I just select one best book and put all of my concentration to it? There are countless books on both introductory mathematical analysis and number theory, which cause me a huge temptation to read them all and doubt that my current books are not enough to cover all basic materials.
Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to hear back from you!
PK
I am a college sophomore in US with double majors in mathematics and microbiology. I apologize for this sudden interruption but I wrote this email to seek your advice regarding to utilizing multiple textbooks per mathematical field. I always thought that different books offer different perspective and approach to the math subject, and I bought several books for self-studying (and to prepare for a future courses I will take). Currently, I am studying Rudin's PMA, Apostol's MA, and Pugh's RMA for introductory mathematical analysis, and I am also studying Niven, Burton, and Apostol (analytic number theory) for introductory number theory. Those books are truly great textbooks and I have been thoroughly enjoying them but I have few problems...What I am doing is reading a chapter on one book and study similar chapters on other two books. I noticed that those books per subject cover quite similar materials but with different tone and approach. Sometimes, I get confused by their different explanations and proof approach to a given definition and theorem, ultimately causing me a reduced brain concentration. How should I study multiple books per subject? Do I actually need multiple (3~4) textbooks per math subject? Should I just select one best book and put all of my concentration to it? There are countless books on both introductory mathematical analysis and number theory, which cause me a huge temptation to read them all and doubt that my current books are not enough to cover all basic materials.
Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to hear back from you!
PK