Books

The Math Academy Way • Advice on Upskilling • Math Textbooks • Introduction to Algorithms and Machine Learning • Linear Algebra • Calculus • Algebra • Booklets

The Math Academy Way

Using the Power of Science to Supercharge Student Learning
(400+ page working draft)   current doc, slightly old pdf, old print
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  • 1. Preliminaries - The Two-Sigma Solution; The Science of Learning; Core Science: How the Brain Works; Core Technology: the Knowledge Graph; The Importance of Accountability and Incentives.
  • 2. Addressing Critical Misconceptions - The Persistence of Neuromyths; Myths & Realities about Individual Differences; Myths & Realities about Effective Practice; Myths & Realities about Mathematical Acceleration.
  • 3. Cognitive Learning Strategies - Active Learning; Deliberate Practice; Mastery Learning; Minimizing Cognitive Load; Developing Automaticity; Layering; Non-Interference; Spaced Repetition (Distributed Practice); Interleaving (Mixed Practice); The Testing Effect (Retrieval Practice); Targeted Remediation; Gamification; Leveraging Cognitive Learning Strategies Requires Technology.
  • 4. Coaching - In-Task Coaching; Parental Support.
  • 5. Technical Deep Dives - Technical Deep Dive on Spaced Repetition; Technical Deep Dive on Diagnostic Exams; Technical Deep Dive on Learning Efficiency; Technical Deep Dive on Prioritizing Core Topics.
  • 6. Frequently Asked Questions - The Practice Experience; Student Behavior; XP and Practice Schedules; Diagnostics and Curriculum; Miscellaneous.

Advice on Upskilling

(~100 page working draft)   current doc, slightly old pdf

Advice on consistency, skills, discipline, the grind, the journey, the team, the mission, motivation, and learning.

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  • 1. CONSISTENCY • You’re Not Lazy, You Just Lack a Habit • Don’t Have a Passion? Go Create One. • Make the Habit Easily Repeatable • The Hardest Part is Just Getting Started • A Little Extra Consistency Ă— A Little Extra Time = A Massive Increase in Volume and Progress • Don’t Overreact to Bad Days • Aim for Virtuous Cycles
  • 2. SKILLS • The Importance of Hardcore Skills • The “Alien-Level Skills” Hack • The Importance of Having Your Prerequisites In Place • Fortify Your F*cking Fundamentals • Your Missing Foundations Will Wait For You • Actively Doing is the Key to Alpha • Everything Matters
  • 3. DISCIPLINE • Why Train? • The Magic You’re Looking For is in the Full-Assed Effort You’re Avoiding • At Some Point Doing the Hard Thing Becomes Easier Than Making the Hard Thing Easier • How to Cultivate Discipline • Keep Your Hands On The Boulder
  • 4. THE GRIND • Upskilling is Hard and That’s a Good Thing • The Most Superior Form of Training • Just Do The F*cking Work • Outsized Success Requires Outsized Work • Transformation Is Discomforting • Enjoyment is a Second-Order Optimization • Ability is Built, Not Unlocked • What Max-Efficiency Training Feels Like • The Necessity of Grinding Through Concrete Examples Before Jumping Up a Level of Abstraction • Be Willing to Do Tedious Work • Don’t Undervalue Turning Up the Dial on Your Grind, but Don’t Overvalue the Last Turn • Failure Is NOT the Key to Success • The Problem with Overly Difficult Problems • Focus Less on Feelings and More on Measurable Progress
  • 5. THE JOURNEY • The 3 Stages of Talent Development • There Are No Shortcuts in Talent Development • If You’re Making Silly Mistakes Then You Need More Practice • No Train, No Gain • Why You Should Push Yourself • Keep Your Foot On The Gas • You Are a Car • What to Do When You Hit a Ceiling • Get Yourself In A Position Where You Can Eat Risk • How to Allocate Your Bandwidth While Searching for Your Mission
  • 6. THE TEAM • If You’re Asking Someone to Be Your Mentor then You’re Doing it Wrong • Put Pressure on Your Boss to Come Up with More Work For You • Get On the Right Team • Competition as a Means of Collaboration • Your Goal is NOT to Prove You’re Smart, it’s to Make Problems Go Away • Make Your First Impression On a Contribution, Not a Critique
  • 7. THE MISSION • Selecting a Good Problem to Work On • The “Progress Equals Pressure” Formula • Love What You Do • Be a Builder, Not Just a Fighter
  • 8. MOTIVATION • Why Extrinsic Motivation Matters • How to Become a Super-Producer • Overcoming the Paradox of Serious Training
  • 9. LEARNING • The Greatest Educational Life Hack: Learning Ahead of Time • When Does the Learning Happen? • There is No Such Thing as Low-Effort Learning • The Greatest Breakthrough in the Science of Learning Over the Last Century • “Following Along” Versus Learning • The Vicious Cycle of Forgetting • The Vicious Cycle of Context Overload • Prereq Yo’ Self Before You Wreck Yo’ Self • Plan Your Broad-Strokes Journey Top-Down, but Carry Out the Granular Steps Bottom-Up • The Efficient Learning Loop • Schooling Versus Talent Development • Learning Doesn’t Have to Be Synchronized for Camaraderie to Occur • Learning is Memory • A Sanity Check for Effective Study Techniques
  • 10. COACHING • Be Both Good Cop and Bad Cop


Math Textbooks


During my teaching years shortly after college, I simultaneously wrote math textbooks for fun as a way to consolidate and clarify my quantitative intuition. The goal was to provide deep intuition for the core concepts and connections, along with plenty of examples and exercises, while remaining as concise as possible.

My teaching years and math textbook writing culminated in Introduction to Algorithms and Machine Learning: from Sorting to Strategic Agents. This book was written to support what was, during its operation from 2020-23, the most advanced high school math/CS sequence in the USA. It culminated in high school students doing masters/PhD-level coursework (reproducing academic research papers in artificial intelligence, building everything from scratch in Python).

Despite no intentional search optimization, this content ranks in the top results for many common search queries across various subfields of math. Some example queries are provided below:
A special thanks to Sanjana Kulkarni for her thoughtful suggestions and diligent proofreading of these books.

Print copies are available on Amazon for the minimum price possible (printing cost plus Amazon's fees).

There's also a (hacky, but functioning) knowledge graph explorer tool for the content in these textbooks, plus some related content from technical booklets and blog posts:

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Introduction to Algorithms and Machine Learning

from Sorting to Strategic Agents
(2022)   pdf, print, school program

This book was written to support what was, during its operation from 2020-23, the most advanced high school math/CS sequence in the USA. It culminated in high school students doing masters/PhD-level coursework (reproducing academic research papers in artificial intelligence, building everything from scratch in Python).

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Linear Algebra

(2019)   pdf, print
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Calculus

(2019)   pdf, print
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Algebra

(2018)   pdf, print
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Booklets

Below are some shorter manuscripts that I feel are interesting enough to share.


Graphing Calculator Drawing Exercises (2019)
pdf, print, course page
A Primer on Artificial Intelligence (2019)
What is AI; The First Wave: Reasoning as Search; The Second Wave: Expert Systems; The Third Wave: Computation Power and Neural Networks; Cutting Through the Hype.

Introduction to Python Programming (2019)
Getting Started in Colab; Strings, Ints, Floats, and Booleans; Lists, Dictionaries, and Arrays; If, While, and For; Functions.

Intuiting Predictive Algorithms (2018)
Naive Bayes; MAP and MLE; Linear Regression; Support Vector Machines; Neural Networks; Decision Trees; Ensemble Models.

The Data Scientist's Guide to Topological Data Analysis (2017)
Connecting Calculus to the Real World (2017)
An Intuitive Primer on Calculus (2017)
Functions; Limits; Derivatives; Integrals; Sequences; Series.

The Physics Behind an Egg Drop: A Lively Story (2014)
Velocity; Momentum; Changes in Momentum; Force; Pressure; Troll Egg Drop.