In The Beginning...

What is the Blog about ?

I have started this blog to speak up on topics which I feel strongly about, like

> The use of Computer Aided Mathematics in education, it is about redesigning the way we do Mathematics. 

> On the necessity of teaching programming to everyone, to show that it is nothing to be afraid of !!

> Focus upon the best open source tools which are only gaining momentum and are quite popular 

(and Free!) to express these ideas.

> We are going to learn Computers and Programming through Mathematics and within the context of solving Mathematical Problems.

Who is the blog for ?

Oh, this one's simple. Autodidacts, passionate hobbyists, die hard programmers, Mathematicians and as well for dreamer and for the ones who aren't afraid to be a child again, to learn and to feel dumb again, to be frustrated when it doesn't work out and to be almost orgasmic( for adults ! ) when it does.

To explore and to overcome challenges, that's pretty much everyone who can benefit from the blog.

Is it for advanced learners ?

No, absolutely not. I myself have no special knowledge about the software or programming in general but over the past couple of years I have explored many different computer languages, different platforms and experimented with tools like Github, Emacs, Vim, terminal shell etc.

I find the best way to learn and to practice things, it is best to do it within a context you are passionate about, so if you are passionate about Computers and Mathematics, then you have come to the right place and at the right time.

I am no advanced user, rather more like a scout who has explored the wilderness and is now returning in full force to chart the entire territory.

For me the context to learn the various yet correlated fields of knowledge and expertise like Text Editing, Mathematics, Shell Programming, Programming Languages and various associated programming paradigms along with the process of software development is the one driving goal.

The goal is sufficiently big so as to keep me moving forward. 

But why Mathematics ?

A good question !

You see, computers only evolved to assist the process of Mathematical Discovery and Reasoning.

But over the years, they have become an epicentre of so many other activities that one could hardly have imagined at the time of the conception of computers.

The hardware took off in its own, so did the software and then there is the Internet. But somehow it is yet to revolutionise the way we do Mathematics, it is yet to alter our all-too-narrow definition and understanding of what is the nature of a Mathematical Knowledge and yet to overcome our morbid excuses like "I am not good with numbers" or "Maths is just not my thing " !!

Then came Sagemaths, which is freely available due to the hard work of many developers who share a vision that the software must be free and should not be a black box rather open for everyone to see, modify, adapt and improve. With the advent of this utility most of the other specialized packages which have been developed over the years have been united within this software and have been made into a cohesive whole.

This enables us to do Mathematical Experimentation in an uninhibited way and with an unprecedented ease. Mathematics doesn't have to mean something which is only for a "gifted" few but it is just like any other skill or a muscle. You work hard, you improve.  You enjoy, what you do, you become a Genius. Period !

How would the blog be structured ?

I'll do my level best to start from the very basics be it programming, mathematics, text editing or shell programming.

And only after doing the basics shall we move on to the next phase.The narrative of the blog would be primarily driven by Mathematical Topics like Algebra, Geometry, Calculus etc and to learn every other required skill within these contexts.

But of course there are many other topics which are richer in the various flavours of programming like C language, Julia language or reading and modifying a source code.

I am going to make  number of Sagemaths projects and make them public for any and everyone to see and modify.

What do I get out of the deal ?

Oh, I get the world out of it. Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by Mathematics, I never really liked that feeling of incompetence; of course I might be slow, I might fail a few exams here and there but that doesn't mean that I don't have it in me rather, most of the time it was the context that failed to inspire my interest. I do love that Mythical Perfectly Rational world,

I believe that We are not Here to feel incompetent, We are Here to Endure, Improve and surpass Ourselves. Constantly and Ceaselessly.

And, through this blog I hope to reach out to people who can help me in the process, At this station, Help is always appreciated. Be it the way I select questions, the way that I structure the answers or the way that I approach a particular problem, help appreciated;)

Of course, there is tons that I have to learn in the journey and having fellow passengers is only going to ease the journey. Each and every thread expressed within the blog would definitely lead to an entire field of study in it's own right. 

What do you get out of the deal ?

There has been a movement going on all across the world which urges us to rethink our entire education system. I think we need to rethink how and for what purpose do we really "think". All around the world Mathematics, Physics and the application of these principles in various  forms occupy the top position in Hierarchy. Though this blog is about Mathematics and Programming (perhaps even Physics later on ! ) but I believe that we should never limit ourselves to these fields only.

For me, a musician, a dancer, a magician, a comedian, an athlete or a martial artist i.e. the entire spectrum of human creativity and expression are equally human and humane. There is hardly any hierarchy if not for the "utitily" and "money" of a form of human creativity.

The reason that I believe CAM is the way to the future is that we should be able to express our own creativity in multiple forms and not to be limited by all the mechanical and dry details of the traditional education. We should have loads of time to improve ourselves if we only learn to do things properly !! 

I hope that You get to be a Genius, yes a Genius ! We are going to redefine the term together, understand the mythical muse better.With the motto "Smart work not only hard work !!" as our starting point.

Being human means being creative;P

Is it necessary to have any background in computers or mathematics at all ?

No, I don't think so. We are going to start from the basics and build ground up upon that solid foundation.

If you know how to make an account, click and point and type fairly quick, you will do just fine. Otherwise if you need to use resources or need to discuss thing our with me, I will be happy to list out resources and put them up in the blog as links and to talk.

What are the tools that I am going to focus upon ?

The main goal is to slowly and gradually build upon our knowledge of Sagemaths and our Creativity in Mathematics, starting from the most fundamental basics of Mathematics and to move towards The Art of Proof.

That is,  gain an access and a better understanding of the Heart of Mathematics.

But Sagemaths is not only a tool for doing mathematics, it can be also be dissected and understood with purely a software development process point of view, or from a testing point of view, how to document code and how can we make it all personal. Make it all come alive with our personality in it, after all the created must resemble the creator.

We will store code on Google or other Github repositories, not that I know much about them now but with this context I am sure that we will understand how the these really work and how easy it is to collaborate with each other.

Besides Sagemaths includes so many other facilities that we can't just explore just now for example Julia is there, Haskell is there, so are R and SQL. Honestly there are many other such beautiful components, not to mention Jupyter being a central feature of Sagemaths future.

And of course, then there is the wonderful Python with it's documentation techniques and LATEX and debugging techniques for codes. This blog aims to be the principle practice laboratory.

Which books are you going to use ?

Let me put forward only a brief overview of the books and topics, there would be a much more complete list in upcoming posts. I own a few books on various basic Mathematical topics  

> Loney - Trigonometry

> Loney - Coordinate Geometry

> R.D. Sharma

The last one isn't an international book but my preference would be for freely available books, CC - licensed books and Open Source resources off the Internet. You would be surprised how easy it is to learn something in this age, there just are so many wonderful resources on the net.

Isn't it amazing that Internet has truly been on of the few things that our entire species has been fascinated by, the other one being exploration of anything and everything. Of course, this is all accomplished when we are not acting foolishly, which happens only rarely. But well, here we are;)

Do we have to stick yo the same speed as you ?

No, not really. If you think that you are already familiar with a topic then you can skip forward as per the Itinerary, go back and experiment with similar questions. Come up with new example and notable cases. I would love to discuss what works and what doesn't , especially the "Why".

What if you posted something wrong ?

By all means, talk to me !!

Tell me what you think and discuss how we can improve the content of the blog. Teach me how to use something or show me the alternatives. Send me links, comments anything.

But be a Yaysayer, not  Naysayer.

Constructive criticism is always welcome;)

Will the blog posts be long ?

Probably so !

Especially so when we are beginning but then again we have to cover a lot of ground but with time we are going to gain proficiency and focus more on problems than just the background.

The main goal should be consistently raising the bar !!