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Lenovo has one similarly priced to the iPad. I'm not going to say that Apple is better of worse, but their marketing strategies attack the customers that don't follow/know what's out there. Obviously, people tend to believe there's nothing else out there if the mass marketing machine tells you how "revolutionary" their devices are (even though the represent no significant advance with respect to other, already in the marked devices). (This is also dramatically used this days in radio stations, that play over and over songs that end-up liking you by brute force)

When it came out, the N85 was the best cellphone ever, and Nokia failed to take advantage of the huge amount of features over the non-existent iPhones at the time (GPS with in-memory maps, TV output, 5MP camera, large screen). Many Sansa MP3 players were fairly good and cheaper than iPods. But the marketing machine of Apple has managed to let consumers believe they have made the first and only devices capable of doing great stuff. Sometimes, pisses me off, but other companies should take more aggressive tactics against apple.

Two years ago, a 128GB SSD that performed half as well as a modern MLC-based 128GB SSD cost about $3,500. So I'd say SSDs are headed in the right direction whereas there's not a chance in hell Apple hardware is coming down in price anywhere near as quickly/as much.

Where can I get a normal tablet computer for the price of an ipad?

Well, I have no idea. You can get them cheaper though.

Albert Eintsein on the need for *both* science and religion:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/einstein/einsci.htm

Also, while you would be right to say some things are better than in the past, many things are not. Rampant vitamin D deficiency from too much time indoors (and listening to dermatologists) is contributing to all sorts of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and even increasing autism.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml
Depression from lack of community (something not valued by modern economists) is widespread.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Americas-Depression-Epidemic-Community/dp/1933392711
Herbert Shelton, who from the 1920s advocated sunlight, better diet, and occasional fasting as proven ways for good health, was hit with endless lawsuits and harrasment from medical professionals:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/shelton.bio.bidwell.htm
Our entire society has become locked in pleasure traps associated with supernomal stimuli, manipulated by advertisers to destroy children for profit:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Sure, we have neat iPads now. What does it matter if the kids are all obese and depressed?

The mainstream USA is in a death spiral as a society because it refuses to acknowledge things like the irony of using the tools of abundance like robotics, AI, material science, and so on to build weapons of destruction like nuclear millsiles and killer robot drones, rather than use the same tech to create abundance for all and have a basic income. Likewise, our society is unable to admit the declining value fo most human labor and the need for a rethink of our economics like a basic income. Renewable energy like solar thermal, geothermal, and wind have been cheaper than fossil fuels or nuclear for decades when you factor in the external costs of war, pollution, health costs, and risks, but our society refuses to price those costs in. I could go on about many other issues (like how organic agriculture is cheaper when looking at all the costs including soil depletion and oil, singple payer health care being way cheaper, and so on). Still, there are hopeful signs here and there, so our society may yet heal itself -- but such a society might not be recognizable to many in the USA today.

So, while you have some points, the poster you are replying too makes many good ones too. As Albert Einstein says in the link at the top, science can tell us what is, maybe some of what was, and matbe even some of what could be, but science can't tell us what *should* be. That is a realm beyond science, to set our goals and the patterns we choose to preserve or strive for. Unfortunately, too often science gets misused to claim it is telling what should be. (Economists often do that with claimed mathematical precision.)

To understand another aspect of how academic science is a cult in a sense, with conservative politics woven throughout is, see Jeff Schmidt on how all professio

Albert Eintsein on the need for *both* science and religion:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/einstein/einsci.htm

Also, while you would be right to say some things are better than in the past, many things are not. Rampant vitamin D deficiency from too much time indoors (and listening to dermatologists) is contributing to all sorts of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and even increasing autism.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml
Depression from lack of community (something not valued by modern economists) is widespread.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Americas-Depression-Epidemic-Community/dp/1933392711
Herbert Shelton, who from the 1920s advocated sunlight, better diet, and occasional fasting as proven ways for good health, was hit with endless lawsuits and harrasment from medical professionals:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/shelton.bio.bidwell.htm
Our entire society has become locked in pleasure traps associated with supernomal stimuli, manipulated by advertisers to destroy children for profit:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Sure, we have neat iPads now. What does it matter if the kids are all obese and depressed?

The mainstream USA is in a death spiral as a society because it refuses to acknowledge things like the irony of using the tools of abundance like robotics, AI, material science, and so on to build weapons of destruction like nuclear millsiles and killer robot drones, rather than use the same tech to create abundance for all and have a basic income. Likewise, our society is unable to admit the declining value fo most human labor and the need for a rethink of our economics like a basic income. Renewable energy like solar thermal, geothermal, and wind have been cheaper than fossil fuels or nuclear for decades when you factor in the external costs of war, pollution, health costs, and risks, but our society refuses to price those costs in. I could go on about many other issues (like how organic agriculture is cheaper when looking at all the costs including soil depletion and oil, singple payer health care being way cheaper, and so on). Still, there are hopeful signs here and there, so our society may yet heal itself -- but such a society might not be recognizable to many in the USA today.

So, while you have some points, the poster you are replying too makes many good ones too. As Albert Einstein says in the link at the top, science can tell us what is, maybe some of what was, and matbe even some of what could be, but science can't tell us what *should* be. That is a realm beyond science, to set our goals and the patterns we choose to preserve or strive for. Unfortunately, too often science gets misused to claim it is telling what should be. (Economists often do that with claimed mathematical precision.)

To understand another aspect of how academic science is a cult in a sense, with conservative politics woven throughout is, see Jeff Schmidt on how all professio

Albert Eintsein on the need for *both* science and religion:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/einstein/einsci.htm

Also, while you would be right to say some things are better than in the past, many things are not. Rampant vitamin D deficiency from too much time indoors (and listening to dermatologists) is contributing to all sorts of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and even increasing autism.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml
Depression from lack of community (something not valued by modern economists) is widespread.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Americas-Depression-Epidemic-Community/dp/1933392711
Herbert Shelton, who from the 1920s advocated sunlight, better diet, and occasional fasting as proven ways for good health, was hit with endless lawsuits and harrasment from medical professionals:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/shelton.bio.bidwell.htm
Our entire society has become locked in pleasure traps associated with supernomal stimuli, manipulated by advertisers to destroy children for profit:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Sure, we have neat iPads now. What does it matter if the kids are all obese and depressed?

The mainstream USA is in a death spiral as a society because it refuses to acknowledge things like the irony of using the tools of abundance like robotics, AI, material science, and so on to build weapons of destruction like nuclear millsiles and killer robot drones, rather than use the same tech to create abundance for all and have a basic income. Likewise, our society is unable to admit the declining value fo most human labor and the need for a rethink of our economics like a basic income. Renewable energy like solar thermal, geothermal, and wind have been cheaper than fossil fuels or nuclear for decades when you factor in the external costs of war, pollution, health costs, and risks, but our society refuses to price those costs in. I could go on about many other issues (like how organic agriculture is cheaper when looking at all the costs including soil depletion and oil, singple payer health care being way cheaper, and so on). Still, there are hopeful signs here and there, so our society may yet heal itself -- but such a society might not be recognizable to many in the USA today.

So, while you have some points, the poster you are replying too makes many good ones too. As Albert Einstein says in the link at the top, science can tell us what is, maybe some of what was, and matbe even some of what could be, but science can't tell us what *should* be. That is a realm beyond science, to set our goals and the patterns we choose to preserve or strive for. Unfortunately, too often science gets misused to claim it is telling what should be. (Economists often do that with claimed mathematical precision.)

To understand another aspect of how academic science is a cult in a sense, with conservative politics woven throughout is, see Jeff Schmidt on how all professio

Albert Eintsein on the need for *both* science and religion:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/einstein/einsci.htm

Also, while you would be right to say some things are better than in the past, many things are not. Rampant vitamin D deficiency from too much time indoors (and listening to dermatologists) is contributing to all sorts of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and even increasing autism.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml
Depression from lack of community (something not valued by modern economists) is widespread.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Americas-Depression-Epidemic-Community/dp/1933392711
Herbert Shelton, who from the 1920s advocated sunlight, better diet, and occasional fasting as proven ways for good health, was hit with endless lawsuits and harrasment from medical professionals:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/shelton.bio.bidwell.htm
Our entire society has become locked in pleasure traps associated with supernomal stimuli, manipulated by advertisers to destroy children for profit:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Sure, we have neat iPads now. What does it matter if the kids are all obese and depressed?

The mainstream USA is in a death spiral as a society because it refuses to acknowledge things like the irony of using the tools of abundance like robotics, AI, material science, and so on to build weapons of destruction like nuclear millsiles and killer robot drones, rather than use the same tech to create abundance for all and have a basic income. Likewise, our society is unable to admit the declining value fo most human labor and the need for a rethink of our economics like a basic income. Renewable energy like solar thermal, geothermal, and wind have been cheaper than fossil fuels or nuclear for decades when you factor in the external costs of war, pollution, health costs, and risks, but our society refuses to price those costs in. I could go on about many other issues (like how organic agriculture is cheaper when looking at all the costs including soil depletion and oil, singple payer health care being way cheaper, and so on). Still, there are hopeful signs here and there, so our society may yet heal itself -- but such a society might not be recognizable to many in the USA today.

So, while you have some points, the poster you are replying too makes many good ones too. As Albert Einstein says in the link at the top, science can tell us what is, maybe some of what was, and matbe even some of what could be, but science can't tell us what *should* be. That is a realm beyond science, to set our goals and the patterns we choose to preserve or strive for. Unfortunately, too often science gets misused to claim it is telling what should be. (Economists often do that with claimed mathematical precision.)

To understand another aspect of how academic science is a cult in a sense, with conservative politics woven throughout is, see Jeff Schmidt on how all professio

Albert Eintsein on the need for *both* science and religion:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/einstein/einsci.htm

Also, while you would be right to say some things are better than in the past, many things are not. Rampant vitamin D deficiency from too much time indoors (and listening to dermatologists) is contributing to all sorts of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and even increasing autism.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml
Depression from lack of community (something not valued by modern economists) is widespread.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Americas-Depression-Epidemic-Community/dp/1933392711
Herbert Shelton, who from the 1920s advocated sunlight, better diet, and occasional fasting as proven ways for good health, was hit with endless lawsuits and harrasment from medical professionals:
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/shelton.bio.bidwell.htm
Our entire society has become locked in pleasure traps associated with supernomal stimuli, manipulated by advertisers to destroy children for profit:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Sure, we have neat iPads now. What does it matter if the kids are all obese and depressed?

The mainstream USA is in a death spiral as a society because it refuses to acknowledge things like the irony of using the tools of abundance like robotics, AI, material science, and so on to build weapons of destruction like nuclear millsiles and killer robot drones, rather than use the same tech to create abundance for all and have a basic income. Likewise, our society is unable to admit the declining value fo most human labor and the need for a rethink of our economics like a basic income. Renewable energy like solar thermal, geothermal, and wind have been cheaper than fossil fuels or nuclear for decades when you factor in the external costs of war, pollution, health costs, and risks, but our society refuses to price those costs in. I could go on about many other issues (like how organic agriculture is cheaper when looking at all the costs including soil depletion and oil, singple payer health care being way cheaper, and so on). Still, there are hopeful signs here and there, so our society may yet heal itself -- but such a society might not be recognizable to many in the USA today.

So, while you have some points, the poster you are replying too makes many good ones too. As Albert Einstein says in the link at the top, science can tell us what is, maybe some of what was, and matbe even some of what could be, but science can't tell us what *should* be. That is a realm beyond science, to set our goals and the patterns we choose to preserve or strive for. Unfortunately, too often science gets misused to claim it is telling what should be. (Economists often do that with claimed mathematical precision.)

To understand another aspect of how academic science is a cult in a sense, with conservative politics woven throughout is, see Jeff Schmidt on how all professio

As an author you receive one free copy, not five. The list price on my book is $73 on amazon, which is not cheap but it is not hundreds of dollars. Truely I will not receive any cash payment unless the book sells above some threshold, but hey - for me just having my own book published is very cool.

And if the book sells below the payout threshold you can use the earned amount to buy other books from VDM. There are many to chose from and one that is on my list of books I would like to buy then is Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything.

As an author you receive one free copy, not five. The list price on my book is $73 on amazon, which is not cheap but it is not hundreds of dollars. Truely I will not receive any cash payment unless the book sells above some threshold, but hey - for me just having my own book published is very cool.

And if the book sells below the payout threshold you can use the earned amount to buy other books from VDM. There are many to chose from and one that is on my list of books I would like to buy then is Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything.

I had the same problem. I had to take a differential equations class 10 years since my last calculus based math course. During the week prior to the course I read Quick Calculus: A Self Teaching Guide and was all set. It is a really good book for getting you back up to speed without wasting a lot of time.

Well, one on 3D rendering from PediaPress is $20.48 for ~412 pages.

One from VDM on a similar topic is $72.00 for ~100 pages. ( http://www.amazon.com/Selective-Rendering-3D-Maps-High-Fidelity/dp/3639216385/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270392883&sr=8-1 )

http://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Self-Teaching-Guide-Wiley-Guides/dp/0471378232/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270389659&sr=8-27

http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Lifesaver-Tools-Princeton-Guides/dp/0691130884/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270389762&sr=1-1

The first one is precal. It refreshes all the stuff you have forgotten since high school.
The second one has videos that go along with it. It covers all of cal I and most of cal II.

http://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Self-Teaching-Guide-Wiley-Guides/dp/0471378232/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270389659&sr=8-27

http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Lifesaver-Tools-Princeton-Guides/dp/0691130884/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270389762&sr=1-1

The first one is precal. It refreshes all the stuff you have forgotten since high school.
The second one has videos that go along with it. It covers all of cal I and most of cal II.

Wow, fantastic article, thanks! The problem is much worse than I previously thought: search on ICON Group International on Amazon and you'll see 472,237 results! Makes VDM's mere 57,000 (well, between yesterday and today they added 659 titles so far) seem wimpy.

The bot idea of 1-star reviews: yes, I mentioned this idea too, in my original article, linked from the original Slashdot submission. Some nerd somewhere, make it so! Amazon can't possibly complain that you're spamming, considering the target.

"There is no royal road to [your math discipline here]."

That said, maybe Manga Guide to Calculus? http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Guide-Calculus-Hiroyuki-Kojima/dp/1593271948/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270383631&sr=8-1

VDM Publishing itself specializes in print of demand of various people's theses. Something like a vanity press, but as a bonus the authors don't have to pay anything, and VDM takes 80% of the earnings. These are sometimes weak offerings, and often available to download for free, but the practice itself is nothing out of the ordinary. So VDM Publishing's authors really are authors, but of theses and similar.

Alphascript and Betascript Publishing (and Fastbooks, in German) are the Wikipedia-aggregation publishers, imprints of (i.e., marketing names for) VDM Publishing. They entirely avoid the expense of looking around for theses and approaching authors, instead simply sucking related articles from Wikipedia. The book titles are goofy as a result, there are no authors, but the costs are miniscule. With a pool of a few hundred million unsuspecting customers exposed via Amazon and others, it just takes one out of every thousand to misstep to make for a profitable business, one that basically makes money off of people's ignorance. At least cigarettes offer nicotine in addition to lung cancer. To the people who argue, "well, you should just be aware of the problem", this sounds to me like smug "I'd never get fooled, I'm so smart" blather to me. Would you say the same if you were the one who bought such a book? Maybe you would, maybe you're the type of person who blames themselves for getting conned, but I blame the con man.

Speaking of blather, I'm sad that no one's commented on one of the Betascript "editors" names is Lambert M. Surhone, which the Internet Anagram Server turns into "Blather Summoner" as the first match, a great fit for the products offered. My original article on VDM mentions this and other fine anagrams.

One ray of sunshine is that giving these books 1-star ratings on Amazon does kick them down the lists. For example, I gave 1-star ratings to a number of their so-called books on Transnistria on Amazon. 3 of their books were the top three books listed on this subject on Amazon before I rated them, now they appear further down the list.

As far as other firms go, AbeBooks indeed sells Alphascript Publishing (45333) and Betascript Publishing (953) books. Oddly, they are all the same price (vs. those on Amazon, which appear to be priced by the pound), from a few different shops. Borders, to their credit, does not carry any Alphascript or Betascript books. Barnes and Noble does.

I will say one thing for VDM, they do add a tiny bit of value (beyond the wacked titles) in their choices of covers, e.g. this peculiar one for a book on legal disputes about Harry Potter.

VDM Publishing itself specializes in print of demand of various people's theses. Something like a vanity press, but as a bonus the authors don't have to pay anything, and VDM takes 80% of the earnings. These are sometimes weak offerings, and often available to download for free, but the practice itself is nothing out of the ordinary. So VDM Publishing's authors really are authors, but of theses and similar.

Alphascript and Betascript Publishing (and Fastbooks, in German) are the Wikipedia-aggregation publishers, imprints of (i.e., marketing names for) VDM Publishing. They entirely avoid the expense of looking around for theses and approaching authors, instead simply sucking related articles from Wikipedia. The book titles are goofy as a result, there are no authors, but the costs are miniscule. With a pool of a few hundred million unsuspecting customers exposed via Amazon and others, it just takes one out of every thousand to misstep to make for a profitable business, one that basically makes money off of people's ignorance. At least cigarettes offer nicotine in addition to lung cancer. To the people who argue, "well, you should just be aware of the problem", this sounds to me like smug "I'd never get fooled, I'm so smart" blather to me. Would you say the same if you were the one who bought such a book? Maybe you would, maybe you're the type of person who blames themselves for getting conned, but I blame the con man.

Speaking of blather, I'm sad that no one's commented on one of the Betascript "editors" names is Lambert M. Surhone, which the Internet Anagram Server turns into "Blather Summoner" as the first match, a great fit for the products offered. My original article on VDM mentions this and other fine anagrams.

One ray of sunshine is that giving these books 1-star ratings on Amazon does kick them down the lists. For example, I gave 1-star ratings to a number of their so-called books on Transnistria on Amazon. 3 of their books were the top three books listed on this subject on Amazon before I rated them, now they appear further down the list.

As far as other firms go, AbeBooks indeed sells Alphascript Publishing (45333) and Betascript Publishing (953) books. Oddly, they are all the same price (vs. those on Amazon, which appear to be priced by the pound), from a few different shops. Borders, to their credit, does not carry any Alphascript or Betascript books. Barnes and Noble does.

I will say one thing for VDM, they do add a tiny bit of value (beyond the wacked titles) in their choices of covers, e.g. this peculiar one for a book on legal disputes about Harry Potter.

I second that. Stroud's books are excellent for getting (back) up to speed on your math. Look here for more.

The Teaching Company is a great resource for lifetime learners. I've used a fair number of their products over the years and they have a lot more positives than negatives. The only thing I dislike about their course offerings is there is too little to acquire with regards to MBA-style courses, but that's neither here nor there.

I think the two courses you want are:

Understanding Calculus: Problems, Solutions, and Tips by Dr. Bruce Edwards, and

Change and Motion: Calculus Made Clear, 2nd Edition by Dr. Michael Starbird

I have the second course and although I haven't gone through it yet, it does not look too shabby.

You might also do well to consider a calculus book by Schaum's.

Since the material is print there is no more DMCA slap on the wrist. In other words, do not be around them when the shit --> fan.

Excerpts from the VDM novel Fecal Matter and Oscillating Blades

When the shit hits the fan is usually used to refer to a specific time of confrontation or trouble, which requires decisive action. This is often used in reference to combat situations and the action scenes in movies, but can also be used for everyday instances that one might be apprehensive about. I don't want to be here when the shit hits the fan! indicates that the speaker is dreading this moment (which can be anything from an enemy attack to confronting an angry parent or friend). He's the one to turn to when the shit hits the fan is an indication that the person being talked about is dependable and will not run from trouble or abandon their allies in tough situations. The concept of this phrase is simple enough, as the actual substance striking the rotating blades of a fan would cause a messy and unpleasant situation (much like being in the presence of a manure spreader). Whether or not this has actually happened, or if the concept is simply feasible enough for most people to imagine the result without needing it to be demonstrated, is unknown. Another example might be the saying shit rolls down hill which is particularly illustrating, the consequences of putting your superiors in a bad position at work. There are a number of anecdotes and jokes about such situations, as the imagery of these situations is considered to be funny. This is generally tied-in with the concept that disgusting and messy substances spilled onto someone else are humorous.

$59.99, only at Amazon.com

I suggest you get a copy of Richard Courant's What is Mathematics?. It covers a wide range of topics so you can pick and choose what you want to learn about. You don't have to read it from cover to cover like most text books. IMO the key thing is that it makes math interesting. Math is like sex in that if it isn't fun then you are probably not doing it right.

Also, don't feel bad about having trouble with college calculus. IMO people seldom learn calculus in college when it is taught by the math department. This is because most mathematicians aren't interested in calculus. You are best off either learning it in high school or, if possible, learning it from the physics department. Many physicists use calculus day in and day out (especially grad students) so they are really into it.

You're in luck, there are tons of options. Use online courses, cheap textbooks (look for teacher editions), and community college courses.

If you were an AP student in high school and enjoy math, you'll do fine the second time around in college. I had to work a lot harder at calculus than I expected during my first undergrad degree. Five years later I returned for another degree and found it much easier and more enjoyable. Suffer through Calc I, II, III, they're basically computation. The fun comes with applied calculus, linear algebra, and finite topics.

Buy yourself a Schaum's calculus guide and work through all the problems. That should get you through single variable calculus with few problems.

I wonder how many of those are "* For Dummy" titles.

Might I recommend to those buying these compilation books that instead, they start with this For Dummies book?

There is a new edition, edited by Ian Stewart, which Amazon has:
What is Mathematics?

I like the book because it is geared to an intelligent adult reader; it doesn't assume much technical math knowledge, but it gives (IMHO) an excellent overview of the concepts through calculus. It has exercises, too.

Obtain all four books from the Gelfand Correspondence Program in Mathematics. Read them carefully and do all the exercises.

The titles are:

Algebra
Trigonometry
Functions and Graphs
The Method of Coordinates

Obtain all four books from the Gelfand Correspondence Program in Mathematics. Read them carefully and do all the exercises.

The titles are:

Algebra
Trigonometry
Functions and Graphs
The Method of Coordinates

Obtain all four books from the Gelfand Correspondence Program in Mathematics. Read them carefully and do all the exercises.

The titles are:

Algebra
Trigonometry
Functions and Graphs
The Method of Coordinates

Obtain all four books from the Gelfand Correspondence Program in Mathematics. Read them carefully and do all the exercises.

The titles are:

Algebra
Trigonometry
Functions and Graphs
The Method of Coordinates

1) get a good test like this one on biscuit topology

2) and learn a major turing complete programing language preferred by mathematicians use

This material could conceivably be studied by a student on his or her own, but this seldom works out. Students tend to get stuck on something, and, having no goad to keep them going, they try to get past it with decreasing energy, and ultimately develop mental blocks against going on. Having an organized course prevents this by forcing them to face obstacles like exams and assignments.

If you attempt this and get stuck, as is almost inevitable, you could try emailing us and we can try to unstick you.

Did you catch that last part? You're going to need help. Whether it's bribing your nerdy friends with cases of beer or Star Wars Galaxy Series Five collectible card packs (*cough* *cough*) you are going to need guidance at certain points in time. Don't be afraid to ask those around you or -- and I recommend this only in dire cases -- dressing up like a student and rolling into your local university asking to see the precalc professor for help.

Your codex might be Wikipedia. Your codex might be Wolfram's MathWorld. My codex sits three feet in front of my face as I type this. My codex (and this is purely personal) Bronshtein et al's Handbook of Mathematics. The binding is acceptable. The paper is not the greatest. The content is priceless. This is not a teaching device. This is my starting point. If I were you my ending point would be at my college's library pouring over all calculus textbooks. The great thing about this starting point is that I like how it lays out all the starting points leading up to that starting point in case I need to start backwards. Another great thing about this particular resource is that it has nearly everything imaginable and is well organized. The bad thing is that it costs $71.97. I think I paid $60 for mine but either way it's not free like Wikipedia.

I don't know where you are comfortable starting from but if I were you I would simply research what your learning institutions pre requisites are and spend your free time now acquiring their books and notes in order to make sure you have them covered. All of my old University of Minnesota syllabuses are online although I cannot find the Math department equivalent (aside from the registration listings).

If you could name your courses, I'd suggest books like The Annotated Turing which has been a page turner for me and actually starts with basic set theory to work up to automata. I'm guessing you're aiming for more Multivariable and Diff Eq type stuff. Let us know what the courses are and perhaps more human readable works can be suggested that aren't as laboriously mind numbing as reading a codex would be.

Oh come on. This is not a troll. This is a fact. In fact, it's well known by scholars of early Christianity.

The fact is that there is no authoritative early version of any book of the Bible. It's just a historical fact. It's not even a "suppressed" fact. What do you think the Council of Nicea (of Nicene Creed fame) was doing? They not only compiled the Bible, but sat around arguing what exactly Christianity was.

I'm really disappointed that some need their own religion explained to them.
Read Misquoting Jesus. It was written by a born-again evangelical from crying out loud.

If, as seems to be the case, they're reprinting wikipedia texts about Scientology, it could get very interesting to watch: http://www.amazon.com/Scientology-Legal-System-Intellectual-Defamation/dp/6130327315

This looks like the best one I've seen so far: http://www.amazon.com/USS-Dempsey-26-Insert-subtitle/dp/613037867X

May I suggest this book as a starting point?

Look for anything on Amazon by one or more of Lambert M. Surhone, Miriam T. Timpledon, and Susan F. Marseken

"Showing 1 - 12 of 18,308 Results" for just Surhone alone

For instance

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Battlecrab-Spacecraft-Humanoid-Technomage/dp/6130461658

A rip off of a Wikipedia page on Babylon 5, or

http://www.amazon.com/Valgrind-Programming-Debugger-Performance-Debugging/dp/613052904X

Look for anything on Amazon by one or more of Lambert M. Surhone, Miriam T. Timpledon, and Susan F. Marseken

"Showing 1 - 12 of 18,308 Results" for just Surhone alone

For instance

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Battlecrab-Spacecraft-Humanoid-Technomage/dp/6130461658

A rip off of a Wikipedia page on Babylon 5, or

http://www.amazon.com/Valgrind-Programming-Debugger-Performance-Debugging/dp/613052904X

If you don't like that, then don't write to a site that releases your content under that license. Simple as that.

You're confused about where the complaint is originating from. Honestly I'd be flattered to buy my words from Amazon.com in a printed format. I've never been published nor produced anything worth publishing. Sure I might be annoyed money went to a shady company but "Look, ma, it's me!"

The complaints are coming from the people buying this tripe--and rightfully so. You used to be able to acquire a book and know that since it was a book the author(s) had done their homework. It was hard for idiots to get publishing deals because the publishers would actually read their work. Sure, you'd have small publishing houses printing "work" on things like free energy or whatever might sell to a niche market. But you'd never have a publisher capable of VDM's feat because of the print-on-demand requirement.

So now we're in this transition period where a few folks know everything about Multigrid GPUs and notice a new book has come on sale and they must have it to complete their library. Well, it's pure unadulterated shit. But VDM Verlag gets that $60 on a couple sales for college libraries or well paid GPU engineers. And it takes a while for word to get out that VDM is what it is. VDM is capitalizing off of this transition period of consumer trust in books to consumer awareness about print-on-demand. VDM is making a boatload of money but I can't think of a good way to fix the system and, like you said, there's nothing technically illegal about their strategy.

Sadly instead of empowering books and their content, the advent of print-on-demand will cause people to doubt the once rigid standards books held. And rightfully so with entrepreneurs like VDM waltzing around. Don't think this won't spread or VDM won't set up fronts to publish under to avoid their known muckraked name.

Why are we concentrating on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel lists 12,381 results for VDM Verlag as a publisher. On the US Amazon, I see 25,127 for a similar search. The UK's Blackwell just sets it at an even five thou (but what's the real number?). You want infection, take a gander at Abe Books' hilarious 191,042 results on the same search (even putting it in quotes results in that)!

Now before you fall all over yourself to point in horror at the infected zombie Abe Books lumbering your way, lets engage in a simple mental exercise. We hate expensive books. Online retailers know this and they cater to us by giving us near wholesale prices. Good. Now, they shave a little bit off but in their strive to be number one, they rely on large volumes of sales with razor thin profits on each sale. This means that its in the company's (and your) best interest for them to automate book sales for publishers and remove the human element. But also remove the overhead cost that comes with it. And maybe even encourage several thousand books so their marketplace looks vibrant and full of sellers selling anything imaginable.

Enter VDM Verlag. All too happy to profit off of the above situation. They have freely available material to publish and they have end users ready to pay.

I'm not an expert in any of this but my gut tells me that this is what is going on. Go to Borders and note their 4 VDM "books". Now, if the lack of titles was a matter of principle and ethics, there would be zero titles. If they had a difficult to use process to register book sales with them then you would have few books (likely case) and if you were streamlined like Amazon, Abe Books or Blackwell then you hit the hilarious numbers. Everybody hates the big guy but in this case the One-Click-Demon is not really the culprit nor are they the lone retailer.

There's really no way to fix this except consumer awareness. Be aware that your paying an exorbitant fee for something that is just a few keystrokes away and a bit of link clicking.

Can someone help me out with an example of how they came to an author for each particular "book"? I'm having a hard time tracing these people. Some of them appear to be legit authors published through other publishers like (random example) Michael Sage. Other people appear to

Why are we concentrating on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel lists 12,381 results for VDM Verlag as a publisher. On the US Amazon, I see 25,127 for a similar search. The UK's Blackwell just sets it at an even five thou (but what's the real number?). You want infection, take a gander at Abe Books' hilarious 191,042 results on the same search (even putting it in quotes results in that)!

Now before you fall all over yourself to point in horror at the infected zombie Abe Books lumbering your way, lets engage in a simple mental exercise. We hate expensive books. Online retailers know this and they cater to us by giving us near wholesale prices. Good. Now, they shave a little bit off but in their strive to be number one, they rely on large volumes of sales with razor thin profits on each sale. This means that its in the company's (and your) best interest for them to automate book sales for publishers and remove the human element. But also remove the overhead cost that comes with it. And maybe even encourage several thousand books so their marketplace looks vibrant and full of sellers selling anything imaginable.

Enter VDM Verlag. All too happy to profit off of the above situation. They have freely available material to publish and they have end users ready to pay.

I'm not an expert in any of this but my gut tells me that this is what is going on. Go to Borders and note their 4 VDM "books". Now, if the lack of titles was a matter of principle and ethics, there would be zero titles. If they had a difficult to use process to register book sales with them then you would have few books (likely case) and if you were streamlined like Amazon, Abe Books or Blackwell then you hit the hilarious numbers. Everybody hates the big guy but in this case the One-Click-Demon is not really the culprit nor are they the lone retailer.

There's really no way to fix this except consumer awareness. Be aware that your paying an exorbitant fee for something that is just a few keystrokes away and a bit of link clicking.

Can someone help me out with an example of how they came to an author for each particular "book"? I'm having a hard time tracing these people. Some of them appear to be legit authors published through other publishers like (random example) Michael Sage. Other people appear to

The iPad isn't even double the price of the comperable Kindle. Take a look at the Kindle vs the iPad.

The only Kindle which comes close to the tech specs of the iPad is the Kindle DX, with a screen that is 9.7" diagonal. The Kindle DX costs $489, the iPad 3G costs $629 or 1.3 times as much. I'm using the iPad 3G for this comparison because the Kindle comes with 3G connectivity.

But yeah, the iPad does a TON more than the Kindle, you can't discount that. Perhaps the Kindle still wins in some areas, such as how the display reads under some situations and battery life, but the iPad knocks the Kindle around in most other aspects. The Kindle also has all the the design goodness of a vintage 70's calculator.

You're right, we don't have the original copies of the Gospels, only fragments from long after the supposed events. The only full manuscripts we have are certainly copies, and copies of copies, and copies of copies of copies, and so on. Such a route can introduce many corruptions and mistakes. However, New Testament Scholarship has been growing by leaps and bounds since the 20th century because more and more evidence (scrolls, historical documents) is being discovered. Along with that, certainty of their authenticity is growing.

Scholarly consensus is growing toward dating all four of the canonical Gospels in the 1st Century. For example, it's realistic to believe that the dating of Acts approximately lines up with the dating of the Apostle Paul's imprisonment in Rome (A.D. 62), since this is where the account ends. If Acts was the continuation of the account that Luke began in his Gospel account (see Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1) then Luke would be dated sometime before A.D. 62.

I would suggest reading some additional New Testament scholars to help balance out your view of dating. Here are just a few:

• D. A. Carson
• Bruce M. Metzger ( The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration )
• Craig L. Blomberg ( The Historical Reliability of the Gospels )
• F. F. Bruce

Other thoughts about the historicity of Jesus: First-hand witnesses could be considered reliable.

• Oral tradition. Teachers, scholars, and students of the day were far better at memorization than we are. It was a firm part of their educational inheritance and their story-telling culture.
• Jesus was considered to be a rabbi by his disciples and even those who didn't follow him (Matthew 19:16-22). For the day, it was essential for a disciple to write down the sayings of his rabbi. If you didn't have something to write on, you would right it on your sleeve.
• Many disciples died or suffered on account of their witness (martyrdom, slavery). It's believable that someone would die for truth. It's also believable that someone would die for something they thought was true, but was actually false. It's not believable that someone would die for something they knew was false. Why would witnesses of Jesus' words and actions die if they knew what they said was false?
• Historical preservation was a common practice in the early church. Christians were punished for deviating from what was already known about what Jesus said.
• Even Jesus' enemies (Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees) have records of Jesus' miracles. They would attribute them to demonic forces (Matthew 12:22-32), but if you wanted to disprove Jesus, why would you even record it in the first place?

You're right, we don't have the original copies of the Gospels, only fragments from long after the supposed events. The only full manuscripts we have are certainly copies, and copies of copies, and copies of copies of copies, and so on. Such a route can introduce many corruptions and mistakes. However, New Testament Scholarship has been growing by leaps and bounds since the 20th century because more and more evidence (scrolls, historical documents) is being discovered. Along with that, certainty of their authenticity is growing.

Scholarly consensus is growing toward dating all four of the canonical Gospels in the 1st Century. For example, it's realistic to believe that the dating of Acts approximately lines up with the dating of the Apostle Paul's imprisonment in Rome (A.D. 62), since this is where the account ends. If Acts was the continuation of the account that Luke began in his Gospel account (see Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1) then Luke would be dated sometime before A.D. 62.

I would suggest reading some additional New Testament scholars to help balance out your view of dating. Here are just a few:

• D. A. Carson
• Bruce M. Metzger ( The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration )
• Craig L. Blomberg ( The Historical Reliability of the Gospels )
• F. F. Bruce

Other thoughts about the historicity of Jesus: First-hand witnesses could be considered reliable.

• Oral tradition. Teachers, scholars, and students of the day were far better at memorization than we are. It was a firm part of their educational inheritance and their story-telling culture.
• Jesus was considered to be a rabbi by his disciples and even those who didn't follow him (Matthew 19:16-22). For the day, it was essential for a disciple to write down the sayings of his rabbi. If you didn't have something to write on, you would right it on your sleeve.
• Many disciples died or suffered on account of their witness (martyrdom, slavery). It's believable that someone would die for truth. It's also believable that someone would die for something they thought was true, but was actually false. It's not believable that someone would die for something they knew was false. Why would witnesses of Jesus' words and actions die if they knew what they said was false?
• Historical preservation was a common practice in the early church. Christians were punished for deviating from what was already known about what Jesus said.
• Even Jesus' enemies (Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees) have records of Jesus' miracles. They would attribute them to demonic forces (Matthew 12:22-32), but if you wanted to disprove Jesus, why would you even record it in the first place?

You consume your books? Aren't you aware that books were meant to be read and not eaten?

What about cook books? Or diet books?

Like this one: Dr. Tooshi's High Fiber Diet: A Revolutionary Diet that will Help You to Lose Weight, Prevent Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Digestive Disorders (Paperback)

It says so right on the front. High fiber diet.

Read up on it.

-jcr

Thanks for the friending. No doubt some small percentage of parents are "bad people". Still, as is suggested here by Raymond and Dorothy Moore who studied this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling
"""
Their primary assertion was that the bonds and emotional development made at home with parents during these years produced critical long term results that were cut short by enrollment in schools, and could neither be replaced nor afterward corrected in an institutional setting. Recognizing a necessity for early out-of-home care for some children - particularly special needs and starkly impoverished children, and children from exceptionally inferior homes- they maintained that the vast majority of children are far better situated at home, even with mediocre parents, than with the most gifted and motivated teachers in a school setting (assuming that the child has a gifted and motivated teacher). They described the difference as follows: "This is like saying, if you can help a child by taking him off the cold street and housing him in a warm tent, then warm tents should be provided for all children - when obviously most children already have even more secure housing."
"""

Also, let's assume there are some bad parents around. There kids are going to get messed up really bad whether their children go to public school or not. But, consider if all their neighbors are at home and taking good care of their kids, with lower stress from not having financial worries. Then at least there are a lot of healthy families around to help out with the kids from the totally dysfunctional families just to be neighborly.

The current system says, all children need to be in prison during the day because some few parents are bad people. Is that fair to everyone else? By that logic, maybe the entire USA population should be sent to prison just to prevent some crimes... Of course, a lot of crimes happen in prisons, too; strangely enough, for all the guards...

If parents are unable to make good decisions, why let them pick the school district they will live in? Why let them pick the jobs they work in? Why let the pick the foods their family will eat? (Food probably has a bigger impact on a child's mental development and behavior than school.) Why let the parents pick the care they drive? Why let the parents pick if they should have a TV or access to the internet? And so on...

Do people do a good job acting in their own interest? I agree, often they do not. Here is part of why (pleasure traps and supernormal stimuli promoted in part for the profits of a very few):
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Also, consider, these parents who can't make good decision. Aren't most of them the product of compulsory schooling? What does that say about the ultimate value of compulsory schooling?

But with that said, we can try to create a society that helps people make better choices (like by regulating deceptive advertising or subsidizing healthy activities), rather than forcing people into prison to "protect" them from themselves.

Anyway, as for money, ultimately, giving school funds to parents is just a stepping stone. I'd suggest the better approach in the long term in the USA would be one-half the US GDP spent on a "basic income" (so

Thanks for the friending. No doubt some small percentage of parents are "bad people". Still, as is suggested here by Raymond and Dorothy Moore who studied this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling
"""
Their primary assertion was that the bonds and emotional development made at home with parents during these years produced critical long term results that were cut short by enrollment in schools, and could neither be replaced nor afterward corrected in an institutional setting. Recognizing a necessity for early out-of-home care for some children - particularly special needs and starkly impoverished children, and children from exceptionally inferior homes- they maintained that the vast majority of children are far better situated at home, even with mediocre parents, than with the most gifted and motivated teachers in a school setting (assuming that the child has a gifted and motivated teacher). They described the difference as follows: "This is like saying, if you can help a child by taking him off the cold street and housing him in a warm tent, then warm tents should be provided for all children - when obviously most children already have even more secure housing."
"""

Also, let's assume there are some bad parents around. There kids are going to get messed up really bad whether their children go to public school or not. But, consider if all their neighbors are at home and taking good care of their kids, with lower stress from not having financial worries. Then at least there are a lot of healthy families around to help out with the kids from the totally dysfunctional families just to be neighborly.

The current system says, all children need to be in prison during the day because some few parents are bad people. Is that fair to everyone else? By that logic, maybe the entire USA population should be sent to prison just to prevent some crimes... Of course, a lot of crimes happen in prisons, too; strangely enough, for all the guards...

If parents are unable to make good decisions, why let them pick the school district they will live in? Why let them pick the jobs they work in? Why let the pick the foods their family will eat? (Food probably has a bigger impact on a child's mental development and behavior than school.) Why let the parents pick the care they drive? Why let the parents pick if they should have a TV or access to the internet? And so on...

Do people do a good job acting in their own interest? I agree, often they do not. Here is part of why (pleasure traps and supernormal stimuli promoted in part for the profits of a very few):
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Also, consider, these parents who can't make good decision. Aren't most of them the product of compulsory schooling? What does that say about the ultimate value of compulsory schooling?

But with that said, we can try to create a society that helps people make better choices (like by regulating deceptive advertising or subsidizing healthy activities), rather than forcing people into prison to "protect" them from themselves.

Anyway, as for money, ultimately, giving school funds to parents is just a stepping stone. I'd suggest the better approach in the long term in the USA would be one-half the US GDP spent on a "basic income" (so

Thanks for the friending. No doubt some small percentage of parents are "bad people". Still, as is suggested here by Raymond and Dorothy Moore who studied this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling
"""
Their primary assertion was that the bonds and emotional development made at home with parents during these years produced critical long term results that were cut short by enrollment in schools, and could neither be replaced nor afterward corrected in an institutional setting. Recognizing a necessity for early out-of-home care for some children - particularly special needs and starkly impoverished children, and children from exceptionally inferior homes- they maintained that the vast majority of children are far better situated at home, even with mediocre parents, than with the most gifted and motivated teachers in a school setting (assuming that the child has a gifted and motivated teacher). They described the difference as follows: "This is like saying, if you can help a child by taking him off the cold street and housing him in a warm tent, then warm tents should be provided for all children - when obviously most children already have even more secure housing."
"""

Also, let's assume there are some bad parents around. There kids are going to get messed up really bad whether their children go to public school or not. But, consider if all their neighbors are at home and taking good care of their kids, with lower stress from not having financial worries. Then at least there are a lot of healthy families around to help out with the kids from the totally dysfunctional families just to be neighborly.

The current system says, all children need to be in prison during the day because some few parents are bad people. Is that fair to everyone else? By that logic, maybe the entire USA population should be sent to prison just to prevent some crimes... Of course, a lot of crimes happen in prisons, too; strangely enough, for all the guards...

If parents are unable to make good decisions, why let them pick the school district they will live in? Why let them pick the jobs they work in? Why let the pick the foods their family will eat? (Food probably has a bigger impact on a child's mental development and behavior than school.) Why let the parents pick the care they drive? Why let the parents pick if they should have a TV or access to the internet? And so on...

Do people do a good job acting in their own interest? I agree, often they do not. Here is part of why (pleasure traps and supernormal stimuli promoted in part for the profits of a very few):
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Also, consider, these parents who can't make good decision. Aren't most of them the product of compulsory schooling? What does that say about the ultimate value of compulsory schooling?

But with that said, we can try to create a society that helps people make better choices (like by regulating deceptive advertising or subsidizing healthy activities), rather than forcing people into prison to "protect" them from themselves.

Anyway, as for money, ultimately, giving school funds to parents is just a stepping stone. I'd suggest the better approach in the long term in the USA would be one-half the US GDP spent on a "basic income" (so

Thanks for the friending. No doubt some small percentage of parents are "bad people". Still, as is suggested here by Raymond and Dorothy Moore who studied this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling
"""
Their primary assertion was that the bonds and emotional development made at home with parents during these years produced critical long term results that were cut short by enrollment in schools, and could neither be replaced nor afterward corrected in an institutional setting. Recognizing a necessity for early out-of-home care for some children - particularly special needs and starkly impoverished children, and children from exceptionally inferior homes- they maintained that the vast majority of children are far better situated at home, even with mediocre parents, than with the most gifted and motivated teachers in a school setting (assuming that the child has a gifted and motivated teacher). They described the difference as follows: "This is like saying, if you can help a child by taking him off the cold street and housing him in a warm tent, then warm tents should be provided for all children - when obviously most children already have even more secure housing."
"""

Also, let's assume there are some bad parents around. There kids are going to get messed up really bad whether their children go to public school or not. But, consider if all their neighbors are at home and taking good care of their kids, with lower stress from not having financial worries. Then at least there are a lot of healthy families around to help out with the kids from the totally dysfunctional families just to be neighborly.

The current system says, all children need to be in prison during the day because some few parents are bad people. Is that fair to everyone else? By that logic, maybe the entire USA population should be sent to prison just to prevent some crimes... Of course, a lot of crimes happen in prisons, too; strangely enough, for all the guards...

If parents are unable to make good decisions, why let them pick the school district they will live in? Why let them pick the jobs they work in? Why let the pick the foods their family will eat? (Food probably has a bigger impact on a child's mental development and behavior than school.) Why let the parents pick the care they drive? Why let the parents pick if they should have a TV or access to the internet? And so on...

Do people do a good job acting in their own interest? I agree, often they do not. Here is part of why (pleasure traps and supernormal stimuli promoted in part for the profits of a very few):
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-Trap-Mastering-Undermines-Happiness/dp/1570671508
http://www.amazon.com/Supernormal-Stimuli-Overran-Evolutionary-Purpose/dp/039306848X
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

Also, consider, these parents who can't make good decision. Aren't most of them the product of compulsory schooling? What does that say about the ultimate value of compulsory schooling?

But with that said, we can try to create a society that helps people make better choices (like by regulating deceptive advertising or subsidizing healthy activities), rather than forcing people into prison to "protect" them from themselves.

Anyway, as for money, ultimately, giving school funds to parents is just a stepping stone. I'd suggest the better approach in the long term in the USA would be one-half the US GDP spent on a "basic income" (so