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Calculus for Dummies?

Thunderchief

Thinker
T
Joined
Nov 29, 2001
Messages
168
Hi

I looking for books or a guide of some kind to help me learn calculus, the snag is I know very little math of any kind.

My math is limited to basic Algebra, and I've not used it for so long that I'm a more that a bit rusty.

I'm interested in DSP as related to audio, and this requires some knowledge of calculus, which I don't have.

So any good "teach yourself advaced math" books availible?

Thanks

Simon.
 
Thinking My thread title was just a joke I did a search on google for "Calculus for dummies" and what do you know IT EXISTS! :eek: :D I'll be checking this one out, but if anyone has any other ideas please let me know.

Simon.
 
I think there exists a just about anything -for dummies.

Hans
 
MRC_Hans said:
I think there exists a just about anything -for dummies.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there's even astrology for dummies, which probably shows a shrewd appreciation of it's potential audience.

Regarding the original question, although I don't have a specific book recommendation, could I suggest that you get A-Level pure maths text book? This will probably start with a re-cap of basic Algebra (which is probably best to do first, so that you get back into the swing of things), and then go onto basic calculus. Although calculus looks daunting at first, it's really not that difficult- it just takes a lot of practice to get good at it. So make sure to get a text-book with lots of exercises. And although it's probably more general than you need, at least it will be good as a reference.

Good luck.

(And for the Americans: A-Levels in the UK loosely correspond to a high-school diploma- or perhaps a bit more advanced)
 
Is there a Ventriloquism For Dummies? Somehow that would give me the creeps.
 
Ok thanks guys.

Brian, thanks for the advice, I'll do a search for something along those lines. I really don't want anything too dry though, I never got along with school text books when I was at school, however I suspect your right about me needing a refresher.

zakur, thanks for the link, looks good. Oh and the reason it's a booming industry is because there are a lot of us. :D

Simon.
 
Hang-on when I started this thread I was a "Scholar", now I'm a "Thinker". Wow this calculus is good stuff, I've only asked about it and I'm already more intelligent! :D

Simon.
 
I'm working on 'How to fool dummies, for dummies'. It has chapters on cold reading, astrology, divining and other cool stuff.
 
jimlintott said:
I'm working on 'How to fool dummies, for dummies'. It has chapters on cold reading, astrology, divining and other cool stuff.
Click to expand...
An excellent title! It accounts for the possibility that the reader will fool himself.
 
Thunderchief said:
Hi

I looking for books or a guide of some kind to help me learn calculus, the snag is I know very little math of any kind.

My math is limited to basic Algebra, and I've not used it for so long that I'm a more that a bit rusty.

I'm interested in DSP as related to audio, and this requires some knowledge of calculus, which I don't have.

So any good "teach yourself advaced math" books availible?

Thanks

Simon.
Click to expand...

"Professor E McSquared's" is a pretty good one in comic book fashion. No exercises, though.
 
Mathematics for the Million
This book has been around more than 50 years, but still sells well. It's no instant instruction manual, but well worth it. Comes recommended by the likes of H.G. Wells and Albert Einstein.
 
Thunderchief
Although learning calculus in and of itself is a worthy pursuit, if you trying to learn DSPs' and how they work, I believe theres an easier road. I don't know how much you know or what your aiming for but most of the math has been done and are embedded in integrated circuits. So if your designing an application most of the parts you would use are available off the shelf and are plug-n-go..

To understand the process' and technology, it would be less time consuming to study the functions of the electronics and programming of these I.C.s. They are complex but the building blocks are pretty basic. The main subjects I would study would be A/Dacs-analog to digital converters-, D/Acs, -digital to analog converters-, DSPs applications data ( available online from the manufacturer) and ...heres the math...and if you absolutely must understand the ghost in the machine, Fourier transforms. All these things can be explained in one short paragraph. (sept the math)
 
Ok thanks again for some more book recomendations, I shall check them out.

TillEulenspiegel

I'm currently reading Steven W. Smith's "The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing". This has helped me to understand the principles of DSP, but not the application. For example; although I could explain to a layman how the DFT works, I couldn't write a program to use it. Does that make sense?

If you have any easy guides to fourier transforms, then I'm all ears.

Simon.
 
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