alt Hacker NewsSo does Strang! (I just checked, Linear Algebra & Applications 4E).
Also: sir, this is a blog post. It's wild seeing people say "if you really want to understand this topic, pick up Axler". I mean, yeah, also if you were serious you could just enroll in your local community college's Linear Algebra course.
My feeling is that a lot of the critique here is really signaling. For whatever reason, linear algebra is super high-status in this community, and people want to communicate that they've done something serious with it. (I'm sure I'm guilty of that too.)
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Strang does include that. I just checked the fourth edition, like you say you did. Scrolling down two pages to get to the first page of the table of contents, I see the heading “cosines and projections onto lines”. I navigate to that section and it explains all the logic, proof, and intuition behind the connection between angles and dot products. Please don’t spread misinformation…
I take exception to the idea that I was somehow signalling, and frankly that's a pretty weird thing to say. It happens that I love maths and am studying it part-time alongside my work. I posted some links to things that I have found useful on my journey so far in the hope that they are useful to others.
> It's wild seeing people say "if you really want to understand this topic, pick up Axler"
I agree. I don't think "Linear Algebra Done Right" is a good fit for most people. It's way too dry, and I don't think his crusade against determinants helps the book. I don't know what a good book suggestion would be, though. Maybe just nab the course notes/slides/exercises off some university's website?
> this is a blog post
Blog posts can be and often are amazing.
> My feeling is that a lot of the critique here is really signaling.
Weird accusation, so just to be clear, I haven't done anything serious with anything, ever.