Doing Michael Spivak's Exercises

1.7k Views Asked by At

I am doing Spivak's Calculus, and I find it EXTREMELY difficult.

I usually ask questions here because I cannot do the problems on my own.

  1. How long should it take to do a Spivak problem?
  2. Is it preparatory for contest problems such as Putnam?

Thanks!

2

There are 2 best solutions below

1
On

As far as advanced math goes, Spivak's problems are rather easy. I recommend you not let this discourage you though. Instead you should spend a very long time solving the problems until eventually you have brought yourself up to that level. This is the way to succeed in advanced math.

6
On

Spivak is best studied with an instructor, and not on your own. When I taught from Spivak, I found that even the top students needed help and encouragement.

Learning to write proofs is preparatory for the Putnam, and Spivak may help with that.