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Linear algebra done right

83 pointsby the-mitrtoday at 5:21 AM35 commentsview on HN

Comments

wodenokototoday at 6:47 AM

Last night I was looking into what to read after or along with 3Blue1Brown's series of Linear algebra videos [1]

The contenders seems to be:

- Linear Algebra Done Right - Sheldon Axler

- Liner Algebra Done Wrong - Sergei Treil

- Introduction to Linea Algebra - Gilbert Strang

- Introduction to Applied Linear Algebra: Vectors, Matrices, and Least Squares by Stephen Boyd and Lieven Vandenberghe

[1] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZHQObOWTQDPD3MizzM2x...

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emil-lptoday at 6:47 AM

Previously on Hacker News:

Linear Algebra Done Right 58 points, July 2023, 4 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36576114

Linear Algebra Done Right – 4th Edition, 631 points, Oct 2023, 294 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38060159

Linear Algebra Done Right [pdf], 85 points, Sept 2024, 39 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41416799

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n4r9today at 9:20 AM

This is supposedly based on Sheldon Axler's earlier and shorter paper "Down With Determinants!" [0]. I lectured mathematics for a while at a "former polytechnic" and used to enjoy leaving print-outs of this sort of paper in the faculty communal areas.

[0] https://www.axler.net/DwD.html

hollowturtletoday at 7:15 AM

For those who find Linear Algebra Done Right too much to start with, and those who don't get why Strang starts with matrices, I can't recommend more "The dark art of linear algebra" read this first. With this you can then tackle every other book on the topic more easily

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contuberniotoday at 7:34 AM

Overrated and tendentious book. There are many better linear algebra texts. His polemic against determinants is poorly motivated, misguided, and distracting. The writing is quite formal and not terribly inspiring. The coverage is adequate but nothing more.

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Bimostoday at 7:26 AM

I found it really insightful (and always overlooked) to distinguish between vector and co-vector spaces. It doesn't necessarily produce new knowledge, but makes things more clear.

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kopirgantoday at 8:30 AM

I wanted to learn the underlying principles of LLM/AI and got myself Shilov's book. Wow that was so thick, each paragraph took a while to figure. This could be a nice option..

Thanks!

dipanshuhappytoday at 7:41 AM

Lately been deep diving into linear algebra. And a way which i engage with it is that I tell AI to generate interactive examples + questions on Lean or Haskell. Its so fun, just deriving the intuition in these languages.

ouz-atoday at 9:13 AM

This is a holy book for a lot of game developers.

LZ_Khantoday at 8:41 AM

i literally threw this book in the trash cause it was too dense and pretentious.

dhruv3006today at 7:07 AM

I passed the class just because of how good the book is.

lokimedestoday at 7:54 AM

My bag of tricks is better than your bag of tricks. Alright.

As with most textbooks, it fails to motivate why reading it is worth the investment. Perhaps it is a millennial old tradition of the Greek mystery schools, that the rite of passage came by proving your commitment to material knowledge without anything but fate in the school itself as motivation.

Rigor before Worth.

(Yes this is a pet peeve of mine :)

netfortiustoday at 7:41 AM

Kindle format link == 404

fithisuxtoday at 6:59 AM

These days, linear algebra done right should be accompanied with some CAS to view how algorithms are used.

Possibly paired with some numerical algebra free text (many on the Internet)

Tomtetoday at 7:36 AM

Do not get the latest edition, the layout and typesetting is atrocious!

runtime_lenstoday at 8:07 AM

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nick_pro7today at 7:50 AM

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