How to Solve It apparently used to be almost compulsory reading for a serious maths student. You can see why it's less fashionable now - it's 65 years old, and the language shows it. It can be heavy going and it's pretty sparing with pictures.
But it's maths gold. It gives you strategies for attacking problems. It encourages you to think "I don't know this yet... but I'm smart and I can figure it out." And it teaches that maths isn't as hard as you think it is.
The top tip I took from it was: always write down what you're given, and try to translate it into normal-person speak - and draw a big picture if you can. Maths is a very terse language and sometimes you need to give it space to breathe.
It's worth a read. Enjoy!
I agree about that book. It's been in my collection since my maths degree days, and I don't keep many maths books.
The idea from it that I pass on to my students most is that when confronted by a maths problem, start by asking yourself if you've solved a similar problem before.. or seen one solved.
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