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(this blog post is meant to be read while listening to this song, in spoilers: + Show Spoiler +
The past few days have been VERY exciting for me, and I want to tell you why.
Two Friday mornings ago, I got my degree in Mathematics. As soon as I got home, the first thing I did was go on-line and look up the books that my university uses for the first year graduate school courses and ordered them online (as well as like one or two other ones that were recommended by reviewers). I'm not going into graduate school this coming Fall because I can't afford it... but god damnit I can pretend like I am!
![[image loading]](http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7228/graduateschoolbooks.png)
And I still got one more book on the way!
(and yes, that is the same kind of mouse Bisu uses)
Guess how much they all cost in total, plus shipping and tax:
+ Show Spoiler +
No fucking joke.
So anyway, every day for the past like 5 days I've been getting a new graduate school-level book in the mail. Its like Christmas, but instead of Santa its the mailman or FedEx guy and instead of opening presents in the morning its at like 4 or 5pm!
So If you guys ever want a pick me up... order a bunch of books online for like <$10 each and soon you'll be watching through the window at your mailman with excitement, too!
I don't use this emoticon very much because I'm not very energetic, but this is about as close as I'll probably ever be to resembling this face :D!
GO EDUCATION!
 
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Are you joking? You use MUNKRES for graduate school? That book has always been an undergraduate level textbook.
The only book that seems to be at a graduate level there is the lie algebra book.
EDIT: Upon magnifying I discovered the algebra book is Lang's. I guess that book is fairly standard for graduate algebra.
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United States10328 Posts
mm you want to be an algebraist? pretty cool... or are you still trying to learn general stuff [i guess that's what the topology + analysis books are there for lol.]
i have a friend who's pretty beastly at algebraic geometry / representation theory, and he's only a rising undergraduate freshman... http://amathew.wordpress.com is his blog. he's ridiculous @_@
also wow < $10 seems really cheap for math books!??
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Munkres is the undergraduate version book. The one book that's missing is the graduate version.
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That's awesome! Kinda looks like my library  . Math is seriously underrated as a recreational activity lol.
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On June 05 2010 07:40 wanderer wrote:
Munkres is the undergraduate version book. The one book that's missing is the graduate version.
Well, I didn't know that.
I have always been an analyst and I chew on books real/complex analysis, probability theory, ergodic theory, and dynamics.
When I go home I'll take a picture of what I have... 
EDIT: I am also surprised that you said you can't afford graduate school. I thought graduate schools give you money (plus free-tuition).
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Having to pay for books for school is still something that shouldn't happen... Education should be something that we can receive no matter what. While I find your success in aquiring said books for such a low cost awesome, it just is sad that you do have to pay for an education no matter what beyond high school in the U.S. (unless you are a lucky one with a full ride).
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On June 05 2010 07:34 wanderer wrote:
I'm not going into graduate school this coming Fall because I can't afford it... but god damnit I can pretend like I am!
This is why I don't mind getting taxed on 50% of my income.
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On June 05 2010 07:45 zrules wrote:
Having to pay for books for school is still something that shouldn't happen... Education should be something that we can receive no matter what. While I find your success in aquiring said books for such a low cost awesome, it just is sad that you do have to pay for an education no matter what beyond high school in the U.S. (unless you are a lucky one with a full ride).
And books ARE free. I get most of my books in the library. I constantly have 10+ books checked out and stocked on my shelf... I can renew my books three times, which translates to about 6 months.
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baller
I can't wait the 3 more years till I'm in your position 
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On June 05 2010 08:00 Turbovolver wrote:
rofl pure maths sucks
nah, it owns.
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On June 05 2010 08:05 DeLoAdEr wrote:nah, it owns.
Yea, it owns. 
hf
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Maths is fun. Kind of miss it
And you're automatically a baller for using a mini optical.
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On June 05 2010 08:08 chesshaha wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 08:05 DeLoAdEr wrote:On June 05 2010 08:00 Turbovolver wrote:
rofl pure maths sucks nah, it owns. Yea, it owns. hf
nah it sucks
gg
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LOL at the cost... my guess was $400. Anyway, cheers. I'm usually awful at math and I got 87% in my calculus class which is 25% above average here.
So right now I love me some maths!!
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Seriously staring at PDEs you can't solve analytically while spending all your time making MATLAB code = real maths
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On June 05 2010 08:18 gogogadgetflow wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 08:08 chesshaha wrote:On June 05 2010 08:05 DeLoAdEr wrote:On June 05 2010 08:00 Turbovolver wrote:
rofl pure maths sucks nah, it owns. Yea, it owns. hf nah it sucks gg
naw it owns
hidden expansion comeback gg
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On June 05 2010 09:00 Turbovolver wrote:
Seriously staring at PDEs you can't solve analytically while spending all your time making MATLAB code = real maths
actually they're called physics doctoral candidates, from what i've heard
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On June 05 2010 09:12 wanderer wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 09:00 Turbovolver wrote:
Seriously staring at PDEs you can't solve analytically while spending all your time making MATLAB code = real maths actually they're called physics doctoral candidates, from what i've heard
No there is this thing called applied mathematics and it's not always (or in fact particularly often) physics.
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is that a les paul in the back ground
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Sorry =( I'm ignorant of that stuff
ps -- if it makes me look cooler then yes it is
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On June 05 2010 09:29 wanderer wrote:
Sorry =( I'm ignorant of that stuff
ps -- if it makes me look cooler then yes it is
im talking about that guitar that you have right there
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On June 05 2010 09:15 Turbovolver wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 09:12 wanderer wrote:On June 05 2010 09:00 Turbovolver wrote:
Seriously staring at PDEs you can't solve analytically while spending all your time making MATLAB code = real maths actually they're called physics doctoral candidates, from what i've heard No there is this thing called applied mathematics and it's not always (or in fact particularly often) physics.
Applied math isn't math. Once you know a PDE has a solution, you're wasting your time if you try to find one.
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On June 05 2010 09:16 Caller wrote:
is that a les paul in the back ground
Not even close. It's classical guitar. Wood hollow-body using nylon strings. Look at the location of the tuners, the high action of the strings, the shape of the body.
A Les Paul is an electric solid-body. Nickel strings with low action.
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Why won't you be able to afford grad school? PhD programs pay you to be a grad student.
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On June 05 2010 10:29 PJA wrote:
Why won't you be able to afford grad school? PhD programs pay you to be a grad student.
I asked the same question. I am guessing he has his reasons.
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maybe its the opportunity costs... if he already has a good job offer in the economy and maybe has to support his family or something like that he might prefer getting this paying job instead of grad school where he will pretty much be able to maintain himself financially, but not take care of others.
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On June 05 2010 10:29 PJA wrote:
Why won't you be able to afford grad school? PhD programs pay you to be a grad student.
Not all schools pay their doctoral students. I know mine does (I was quite shocked when I found out "wait, you get paid to learn math???"), but I've also heard of schools not paying, barely paying, or even charging for the programme. I'd be surprised if this was ever the case with math though, but I could understand it if the school had a small department with little funding
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On June 05 2010 09:43 igotmyown wrote:
Applied math isn't math. Once you know a PDE has a solution, you're wasting your time if you try to find one.
Yeah who wants to find solutions to PDEs? That would never be useful ever. wtfffff?
@OP: Sorry I said pure maths sucks. It's still maths, it can't be all bad =p gl with it all
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"I have never done anything 'useful'. No discovery of mine has made, or is likely to make, directly or indirectly, for good or ill, the least difference to the amenity of the world."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_H_Hardy
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17069 Posts
On June 05 2010 07:40 ]343[ wrote:mm you want to be an algebraist? pretty cool... or are you still trying to learn general stuff [i guess that's what the topology + analysis books are there for lol.] i have a friend who's pretty beastly at algebraic geometry / representation theory, and he's only a rising undergraduate freshman... http://amathew.wordpress.com is his blog. he's ridiculous @_@ also wow < $10 seems really cheap for math books!??
No one else has commented on this kid's blog? If he's an undergraduate freshman, that's insane :/
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On June 05 2010 07:47 illu wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 07:45 zrules wrote:
Having to pay for books for school is still something that shouldn't happen... Education should be something that we can receive no matter what. While I find your success in aquiring said books for such a low cost awesome, it just is sad that you do have to pay for an education no matter what beyond high school in the U.S. (unless you are a lucky one with a full ride). And books ARE free. I get most of my books in the library. I constantly have 10+ books checked out and stocked on my shelf... I can renew my books three times, which translates to about 6 months.
Um no... in the U.S. my friend had to pay $150 for a single Spanish class book... my college books are going to total $150 dollars. And I don't think the libraries here have any of those types of textbooks in stock... and the big thing concerning textbooks (at least to the university I'm going to) is that only honor students can keep books out for a semester, everyone else has something like 3 weeks with I think maybe one renewal.
Though if you are going to a U.S. university it might be because your going to one that is in a more liberal state than Arizona >.<.
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On June 05 2010 13:11 zrules wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 07:47 illu wrote:On June 05 2010 07:45 zrules wrote:
Having to pay for books for school is still something that shouldn't happen... Education should be something that we can receive no matter what. While I find your success in aquiring said books for such a low cost awesome, it just is sad that you do have to pay for an education no matter what beyond high school in the U.S. (unless you are a lucky one with a full ride). And books ARE free. I get most of my books in the library. I constantly have 10+ books checked out and stocked on my shelf... I can renew my books three times, which translates to about 6 months. Um no... in the U.S. my friend had to pay $150 for a single Spanish class book... my college books are going to total $150 dollars. And I don't think the libraries here have any of those types of textbooks in stock... and the big thing concerning textbooks (at least to the university I'm going to) is that only honor students can keep books out for a semester, everyone else has something like 3 weeks with I think maybe one renewal. Though if you are going to a U.S. university it might be because your going to one that is in a more liberal state than Arizona >.<.
Of course, if I need a textbook for a first year course, there are no ways around it (have to spend anywhere from 50 to 200 for each book). But for graduate level math texts, library is sufficient.... well, at University of Toronto anyways.
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On June 05 2010 12:57 Empyrean wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 07:40 ]343[ wrote:mm you want to be an algebraist? pretty cool... or are you still trying to learn general stuff [i guess that's what the topology + analysis books are there for lol.] i have a friend who's pretty beastly at algebraic geometry / representation theory, and he's only a rising undergraduate freshman... http://amathew.wordpress.com is his blog. he's ridiculous @_@ also wow < $10 seems really cheap for math books!?? No one else has commented on this kid's blog? If he's an undergraduate freshman, that's insane :/
wtf, that is INSANE O_O
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Since you guys are talking about how expensive books are, allow me to share with you guys the site that a Senior on her way out the door of my former university told me on my very first day of college:
http://abebooks.com
I was in college for 3.5 years and every semester I never spent more than $130 on books (that maximum number was only at the end because advanced mathematical textbooks are a bit harder to come by than introductory level shit). The average I spent on books every semester, when you look at all of them, would probably be like $20.
Here's proof:
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/1364/proof1k.png) fyi that $43 textbook that I bought up there was just unlucky that I had to buy it because they switched from the book I used in calculus 1 and 2 to a different one for when I took calculus 3... so I wouldn't pay attention to it because it was an unlucky anomoly) ![[image loading]](http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7508/proof2u.png)
As a side note, its always a good idea to look for an earlier edition of your class books for shit where you won't have to do homework (its always a good idea to e-mail the professor to make sure... but for social science classes, you can most surely get away with an older edition, which is guaranteed to be like $1)
My entire bookshelf is filled with books that costed like $1 a piece. I'll try to take a picture and post it here for you guys...
edit:
Here is my bookshelf -- I have others strewn across other parts of the room, but this is the majority of my collection:
+ Show Spoiler +
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I can't wait until I have my undergrad. ^^
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On June 05 2010 09:43 igotmyown wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 09:15 Turbovolver wrote:On June 05 2010 09:12 wanderer wrote:On June 05 2010 09:00 Turbovolver wrote:
Seriously staring at PDEs you can't solve analytically while spending all your time making MATLAB code = real maths actually they're called physics doctoral candidates, from what i've heard No there is this thing called applied mathematics and it's not always (or in fact particularly often) physics. Applied math isn't math. Once you know a PDE has a solution, you're wasting your time if you try to find one.
"Macho posturing is one of the worst things about undergraduate studies in mathematics. In math, there's always somebody who's better, faster, more technically powerful than you;"
-- http://www.math.wisc.edu/~ellenber/
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On June 05 2010 12:57 Empyrean wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2010 07:40 ]343[ wrote:mm you want to be an algebraist? pretty cool... or are you still trying to learn general stuff [i guess that's what the topology + analysis books are there for lol.] i have a friend who's pretty beastly at algebraic geometry / representation theory, and he's only a rising undergraduate freshman... http://amathew.wordpress.com is his blog. he's ridiculous @_@ also wow < $10 seems really cheap for math books!?? No one else has commented on this kid's blog? If he's an undergraduate freshman, that's insane :/
Is he better than Reid Barton?
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Where do you order your books from?
EDIT: Oh wow missed page 2, nevermind.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5302/sany0110.jpg)
