In the intervening month I have done chapters 8 and 9 of Tao’s Analysis I, which feels terribly slow. Two chapters in a month? I could do the whole book in that time if I tried! And I know that I can because I have, like I’m getting a physics degree and it definitely feels like I’ve done at least one textbook worth of learning per term.
One of the active ingredients seems to be time pressure, which is present but not salient here—if I fail, all that happens is the wrong math is deployed to steer the future of the lightcone, which doesn’t hold a candle to me losing a little bit of status. Ah, to be a brain.
Thus: by October I’ll have finished Analysis I; think less of me if I haven’t.
(And perhaps I’ll have done even more!)
UPDATE SEP 26: You can rest easy now; I have completed the book.
I don’t mean this to sound confrontational, but what do you expect to do differently to enable yourself to go more quickly? I ask because my personal experience has been that just saying I’m going to go faster with self-learning doesn’t work very well.
For example, do you plan to do fewer exercises, devote more time, etc.?
Sorry, I don’t know your psychology, but I can’t imagine that this type of mindset is healthy. You shouldn’t rely on social punishment to motivate you like that.
Is the issue that it’s pain-based and hence makes my life worse (probably false for me: maths is fun and gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment when I do it, it’s just that darn System 1 always saying “better for you if you play Kerbal Space Program”), or that social punishment isn’t always available and therefore ought not to be relied on (this is probably an issue for me), or some third thing?
I am not worried about math being painful, or about social punishment being limited. I’m worried that you are setting yourself up to fail and then feel really bad about yourself, which might even cause you to forget about learning math altogether.
after TG has read the book, “think more of them”. (There’s a “bragging thread” somewhere.)
TG makes a post about what they’ve learned from reading Tao’s analysis when they’re done. (If it’s really long, then such a post might be usefully broken up into smaller posts, possibly released earlier.)
Previously: August.
Dear Diary,
In the intervening month I have done chapters 8 and 9 of Tao’s Analysis I, which feels terribly slow. Two chapters in a month? I could do the whole book in that time if I tried! And I know that I can because I have, like I’m getting a physics degree and it definitely feels like I’ve done at least one textbook worth of learning per term.
One of the active ingredients seems to be time pressure, which is present but not salient here—if I fail, all that happens is the wrong math is deployed to steer the future of the lightcone, which doesn’t hold a candle to me losing a little bit of status. Ah, to be a brain.
Thus: by October I’ll have finished Analysis I; think less of me if I haven’t.
(And perhaps I’ll have done even more!)
UPDATE SEP 26: You can rest easy now; I have completed the book.
I don’t mean this to sound confrontational, but what do you expect to do differently to enable yourself to go more quickly? I ask because my personal experience has been that just saying I’m going to go faster with self-learning doesn’t work very well.
For example, do you plan to do fewer exercises, devote more time, etc.?
No, I don’t think I will. :)
Sorry, I don’t know your psychology, but I can’t imagine that this type of mindset is healthy. You shouldn’t rely on social punishment to motivate you like that.
Is the issue that it’s pain-based and hence makes my life worse (probably false for me: maths is fun and gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment when I do it, it’s just that darn System 1 always saying “better for you if you play Kerbal Space Program”), or that social punishment isn’t always available and therefore ought not to be relied on (this is probably an issue for me), or some third thing?
I am not worried about math being painful, or about social punishment being limited. I’m worried that you are setting yourself up to fail and then feel really bad about yourself, which might even cause you to forget about learning math altogether.
Compromise Solutions:
after TG has read the book, “think more of them”. (There’s a “bragging thread” somewhere.)
TG makes a post about what they’ve learned from reading Tao’s analysis when they’re done. (If it’s really long, then such a post might be usefully broken up into smaller posts, possibly released earlier.)