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Basic Training in Mathematics: A Fitness Program for Science Students
Based on course material used by the author at Yale University, this practical text addresses the widening gap found between the mathematics required for upper-level courses in the physical sciences and the knowledge of incoming students. This superb book offers students an excellent opportunity to strengthen their mathematical skills by solving various problems in differential calculus. By covering material in its simplest form, students can look forward to a smooth entry into any course in the physical sciences.
365 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 1995
30 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Ramamurti Shankar
7Ìýbooks62ÌýfollowersRamamurti Shankar (born April 28, 1947) is the John Randolph Huffman Professor of Physics at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. His research is in theoretical condensed matter physics, although he is also known for his earlier work in theoretical particle physics. In 2009, Shankar was awarded the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize from the American Physical Society for "innovative applications of field theoretic techniques to quantum condensed matter systems". He received his B. Tech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and his Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics from the University of California, Berkeley (1974). After three years at the Harvard Society of Fellows, he joined the Yale physics department, which he chaired between 2001-2007. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is dedicated to teaching and has published three texts: Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Basic Training in Mathematics: A Fitness Program for Science Students and Fundamentals of Physics.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 4, 2020
For me, this book offered a fantastic “basic training� program that helped me quickly refresh my mathematical skills. Shankar is a great writer, for the most part. Except for a few places where I got bogged down trying to reconcile the text with the equations, Shankar does a brilliant job of explaining the “why� behind the machinery.
As for the contents, it covers algebra, trig, then moves quickly onto various aspects of calculus before settling on linear algebra, and finally differential equations. This path is well-trodden for most college students - it mirrors my own sequence of mathematical training. The highlight of the book, for me, was chapter 6 - complex analysis. Somehow I missed this topic in college and found it absolutely beautiful and mind-blowing. Learning Cauchy’s Residue Theorem and then applying it to impossible-looking integrals feels like cheating, or a super power, possibly both. It’s great.
It’s quite a feat to cover so much material in so few pages, and for the most part, Shankar hits all the highlights and important results and techniques. But it isn’t perfect. I was frustrated to see Greens functions receive only a passing mention.
All in all, this is a fantastic book for refreshing ones mathematical chops, and is well suited to self-study.
As for the contents, it covers algebra, trig, then moves quickly onto various aspects of calculus before settling on linear algebra, and finally differential equations. This path is well-trodden for most college students - it mirrors my own sequence of mathematical training. The highlight of the book, for me, was chapter 6 - complex analysis. Somehow I missed this topic in college and found it absolutely beautiful and mind-blowing. Learning Cauchy’s Residue Theorem and then applying it to impossible-looking integrals feels like cheating, or a super power, possibly both. It’s great.
It’s quite a feat to cover so much material in so few pages, and for the most part, Shankar hits all the highlights and important results and techniques. But it isn’t perfect. I was frustrated to see Greens functions receive only a passing mention.
All in all, this is a fantastic book for refreshing ones mathematical chops, and is well suited to self-study.
September 2, 2020
This book is a bit tough to review. It doesn't have enough detail and is not paced appropriately to be a first exposure to most of these topics, but it is not simply a review, since there are some fairly clever tricks and techniques that Shankar wants students to know. The primary audience is probably people with fairly good mathematical training, but who might not have learned some of these techniques in school. I found it to be good motivation for relearning some topics in greater detail, but this book is not sufficient on its own for teaching the topics it covers.
October 22, 2020
Worst math methods book ever. Read it as a textbook.
March 1, 2021
Need a new copy
The text was assembled incorrectly making it not readable. The rating has nothing to do with the quality of the information within the text.
The text was assembled incorrectly making it not readable. The rating has nothing to do with the quality of the information within the text.
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March 18, 2009to stay sharp
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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