I am 33 and I have always had issues with Maths. In school I failed pretty much every test, Maths killed my scores on finals, and I have simply tried to avoid it.
Two funny facts however: First of all, I am working as programmer and web designer, without bigger problems. However, I have never gone through any university degree so far. Secondly, I am fairly good in basic maths. I can divide, add and subtract, etc. both in written form and out of my head. I can make most calculations for prices or for example for grocery shopping, etc. out of my head. If it gets really complicated, I use pen and paper to calculate.
However, lately I have decided to go sign up for university, to get a degree in computer science (programming and software development), to bring my career and my skills to the next level. From the very basic courses and readings at the Uni, I have had a very hard time, following the classes due to lack of maths skills.
I have issues with algorithms, with hexadecimals and octav numbers and the list goes on. I have been told by my professor, that I should go back a bit into the past and review some of the maths classes from high school grade 7 to 10 or maybe even from early college times.
Well, I have done that, but I still have issues understanding stuff... So I was wondering if there is any good source or book or whatever, to learn from as an adult and if there are any good methods or tricks, I could use to learn more successfully maths...
Thanks in advance,
Ben
Since you are pursuing a computer science degree, I think you can benefit from learning some Discrete Mathematics. The book by Grimaldi is nice for an introduction, you could also consult the book by Kenneth Rosen.
Some single variable calculus never harmed anyone. For that I suggest the book by Spivak.
Someday you might also wanna learn some Linear Algebra. The book by Gilbert Strang can be a nice introduction.
Khan Academy has lots of videos on lots of mathematical topics and could be a nice starting point. You can also search MIT Open Courseware for lectures on relevant topics. And of course, while learning, if you get stuck somewhere, asking here can help too.
As for methods, the only way I know is to sit down with some paper and pencil, and work your way through stuff. You'd need a lot of patience, there's no shortcut or trick. Of course, as always, you'd need to practice solving problems, a lot.