Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

FDL Math Textbooks?

Posted by Cliff on from the finding-a-better-textbook dept.

PyTHON71 asks: "I'm working through Schaum's Outlines of College Algebra. So far, in chapter 17 (conic sections), I've found 6 errors! Since I can spot them and correct them, I'm not worried about myself. But without math, you can't hack, and if young hackers are getting hung up on stupid math mistakes made by textbook authors... well, it's obviously a case for FDL textbooks. Are any textbooks being produced under the FDL?"

3 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. Good stuff. by hafree · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I love when people use acronyms that nobody knows. I also love the apparent lack of editorial process involved in selecting ask slashdot questions. Kthxbye.

  2. If you think math textbooks are bad... by mstorer3772 · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...Try k-6 science books. YOW!

    A guy by the name of Bill Beaty maintains a giant time-sucking vortex of a web page:

    http://www.amasci.com

    A portion of the site is devoted to correcting common misconceptions found in science textbooks, and about how these misconceptions hamper later learning:

    http://amasci.com/miscon/miscon.html

    --
    Fooz Meister
  3. Timely post by The+Clockwork+Troll · · Score: 3, Funny
    But without math, you can't hack, and if young hackers are getting hung up on stupid math mistakes made by textbook authors... well, it's obviously a case for FDL textbooks.
    So true - I can't count how many times I've been laid off because I couldn't remember how to write code to find the eccentricity of a hyperbola.
    --

    There are no karma whores, only moderation johns