**Dan Piponi** @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 02:29

**Dan Piponi** @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 02:29

Dan Piponi @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz

Feb 28, 2024, 02:29

An annoying aspect of having mathematics training: if you want to learn about a new topic, X, you'd like to read "X made easy", but most people's idea of "X made easy" is to present X with as much mathematics removed as possible, and that's what most tutorials out there look like to me.

**Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏** @mjambon@qoto.org · 2024-02-28T02:34:52Z

Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏 @mjambon@qoto.org

@dpiponi are there different types of "documentation" for math? I've found the division into 4 kinds of documentation for software tremendously useful. I recommend it to everyone who writes software documentation because it makes life easier: https://documentation.divio.com/

Feb 28, 2024, 02:34 · · · ·

**Dan Piponi** @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 02:41

**Dan Piponi** @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 02:41

Feb 28, 2024, 02:41

Dan Piponi @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz

@mjambon Ooh! I like that diagram and I expect I'll classify everything technical I read like that now. I think all of those types exist in mathematics but the further you go in your career the further to the lower right the material you read is.

**Jeremy Kun** @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:11

**Jeremy Kun** @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:11

Feb 28, 2024, 03:11

Jeremy Kun @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz

@mjambon @dpiponi I feel like the de facto system is: research papers, survey papers, lecture notes, textbooks, and grad student blogs

**Jeremy Kun** @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:13

**Jeremy Kun** @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:13

Feb 28, 2024, 03:13

Jeremy Kun @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz

@mjambon @dpiponi I think the most helpful discrimination of math documentation for me is: whether it's aimed at math researchers, math grad students, math undergrads, or people not in any math field.

**Dan Piponi** @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:13

**Dan Piponi** @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:13

Feb 28, 2024, 03:13

Dan Piponi @dpiponi@mathstodon.xyz

@j2kun @mjambon It's 2024, you need to have YouTube videos on there! I'm not a fan of learning mathematics that way but I think the rest of the world is :)

**Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏** @mjambon@qoto.org · Feb 28, 2024, 03:22

**Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏** @mjambon@qoto.org · Feb 28, 2024, 03:22

Feb 28, 2024, 03:22

Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏 @mjambon@qoto.org

@dpiponi @j2kun I enjoy the video format when I'm not familiar with how things are done in the discipline (how to read [between the lines], how to know something is supposed to be important, when to try things out for myself, ...).

**Jeremy Kun** @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:35

**Jeremy Kun** @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 03:35

Feb 28, 2024, 03:35

Jeremy Kun @j2kun@mathstodon.xyz

@dpiponi @mjambon even Grant Sanderson says he doesn't think anyone actually learns anything from his videos. It's infotainment, not documentation.

**Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏** @mjambon@qoto.org · Feb 28, 2024, 03:45

**Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏** @mjambon@qoto.org · Feb 28, 2024, 03:45

Feb 28, 2024, 03:45

Martin Jambon 🌍🌎🌏 @mjambon@qoto.org

@j2kun @dpiponi sure. Whatever you call it. I think it's important for newbies.

**Joseph Cooper** @grodin@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 11:20

**Joseph Cooper** @grodin@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 28, 2024, 11:20

Feb 28, 2024, 11:20

Joseph Cooper @grodin@mathstodon.xyz

@j2kun @dpiponi @mjambon I have sometimes learnt something from 3b1b videos, though it's never been what the video was ostensibly about. Usually it's some higher level intuition about something e.g. if there's a π in something, there's a probably an interpretation which involves a circle.