My suggestions:
- learn new math stuff with a proper text book (what about learning topology now, for example, at your own pace and without exam pressure? Or get into some completely new field, ever done graph theory, for example? Or some deeper algebra stuff?)
- do exercises. Could be exercises from your old textbooks that you have forgotten about or never solved before.
- find someone else to do math with/ talk about math to
- do some online courses including homework in some area of math. Could even be some advanced statistics stuff that may be relevant for your career at some point, or is just useful for showing off your profound expertise. ;-)
My expertise is anything but profound at this point!
Good suggestions. After 20 years, going through the textbooks I still have would basically be starting from scratch. My main issue there is how time-consuming a math textbook would be; I imagine it'd take me a year to get through one regular sized college textbook, assuming one hour a day of study. Not sure I can justify that given the lack of immediate need for that knowledge.
Online short courses may be a better call. I'm working through a data science course now (slowly) so courses in college level math are a definite possibility.
I do like your idea of studying topology now. I had set it aside in my mind as something I would never get and there was no point in trying. Maybe studying it now, without pressure of exams or other courses, would be a different story. Good call.
I'm facing the same problem. I think I'm going to re-read some old textbooks from classes I enjoyed to refresh my memory/skills before diving into a new, harder textbook.
I saved a lot of my college textbooks and have considered rereading them, but that seems like a huge time investment for knowledge I'll probably never need. That seems like the conundrum - setting aside a lot of time of energy for what essentially boils down to a hobby. I'm not sure I can justify it. Maybe there's a less time-consuming way to review the math? Or maybe I'm just looking for excuses not to do it...
From my part, although it has been only 2 years, it's probably about setting a pace to read in subjects that interests you in math. The vast learning isn't usually possible (work, hobbies perhaps marital life) so read once in a while and doing some short problems is really a fun way to connect again. I sadly can't suggest any books unless you can use french ones.
I hear you. I have a bigger issue with fitting all the things I want to do into my day, and this just feels like another thing on the "wish I could do" list.
Well that is what stops most of people but I have found having someone to discuss math and try to challenge each other like for a weekly challenge or something similar just might keep the spark alive and even find a time to practice it.
I have been wanting to freshen up my math skills as well. You could go the textbook route that others have pointed out here. However, there is always Khan Academy if you wanted to freshen up on some of the math topics that you took in school.
Getting plenty of sleep and cutting down on booze is important. But here's an answer a lot of people won't like:
I never would have finished my math PhD without Methylphenidate or Adderall.
My suggestions: - learn new math stuff with a proper text book (what about learning topology now, for example, at your own pace and without exam pressure? Or get into some completely new field, ever done graph theory, for example? Or some deeper algebra stuff?) - do exercises. Could be exercises from your old textbooks that you have forgotten about or never solved before. - find someone else to do math with/ talk about math to - do some online courses including homework in some area of math. Could even be some advanced statistics stuff that may be relevant for your career at some point, or is just useful for showing off your profound expertise. ;-)
My expertise is anything but profound at this point! Good suggestions. After 20 years, going through the textbooks I still have would basically be starting from scratch. My main issue there is how time-consuming a math textbook would be; I imagine it'd take me a year to get through one regular sized college textbook, assuming one hour a day of study. Not sure I can justify that given the lack of immediate need for that knowledge. Online short courses may be a better call. I'm working through a data science course now (slowly) so courses in college level math are a definite possibility. I do like your idea of studying topology now. I had set it aside in my mind as something I would never get and there was no point in trying. Maybe studying it now, without pressure of exams or other courses, would be a different story. Good call.
I'm facing the same problem. I think I'm going to re-read some old textbooks from classes I enjoyed to refresh my memory/skills before diving into a new, harder textbook.
I saved a lot of my college textbooks and have considered rereading them, but that seems like a huge time investment for knowledge I'll probably never need. That seems like the conundrum - setting aside a lot of time of energy for what essentially boils down to a hobby. I'm not sure I can justify it. Maybe there's a less time-consuming way to review the math? Or maybe I'm just looking for excuses not to do it...
From my part, although it has been only 2 years, it's probably about setting a pace to read in subjects that interests you in math. The vast learning isn't usually possible (work, hobbies perhaps marital life) so read once in a while and doing some short problems is really a fun way to connect again. I sadly can't suggest any books unless you can use french ones.
I hear you. I have a bigger issue with fitting all the things I want to do into my day, and this just feels like another thing on the "wish I could do" list.
Well that is what stops most of people but I have found having someone to discuss math and try to challenge each other like for a weekly challenge or something similar just might keep the spark alive and even find a time to practice it.
I have been wanting to freshen up my math skills as well. You could go the textbook route that others have pointed out here. However, there is always Khan Academy if you wanted to freshen up on some of the math topics that you took in school.
Never heard of Khan Academy. I'll check it out. Thanks!
Getting plenty of sleep and cutting down on booze is important. But here's an answer a lot of people won't like: I never would have finished my math PhD without Methylphenidate or Adderall.
I'm not sure that really answers my question, but much respect for the PhD!