Programs for visualizing math designed for laymen?

Question

I'm looking for interactive applications that are for university topics (designed for windows) in mathematics only , preferably something that doesn't include programming languages to use because those confuse me.

I'm looking for Something where you can just input the data akin to 3D - Xplor math. Another good example would be Geomview where you view and manipulate three-dimensional objects: you use the mouse to rotate, translate, zoom in and out, and so on. However this is designed for Unix.

I've looked at programs like Matlab, mathematica , octave , maplesoft but those seem technical and suited for professionals with experience.

The topics I am referring to include: algebra and trigonometry , linear algebra , calculus , differential geometry , numerical methods, sampling theory and signal processing , matrix equations , optimization and computational geometry.

If you can't provide any suggestions , places to start to learn the more technical programs are welcomed.

Answer 1

I would highly recommend learning one of MATLAB, Mathematica, MathCAD or whatever. Among them, I recommend MATLAB. There is practically nothing that cannot be done in MATLAB. (No flame wars please).

I stand by MATLAB Demystified. Its a wonderful book and starts with no assumptions.

If you don't have access to MATLAB, give a shot to Octave. It is very similar and more often than not, the codes of MATLAB will work with no or little modifications.

Answer 2

If Mathematica's a bit overwhelming, you can use Wolfram's website. For example, you could query for "plot bessel function" and get this.

If you're using a Mac, the Grapher app might be what you're looking for. There's no programming involved and it comes pre-installed. It's about as easy as plotting gets, it takes both data and math-style expressions, and the visuals are gorgeous.

For Windows, Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 looks promising, but I haven't used it.

IMHO, it's worthwhile to invest time in learning programming if you're doing nearly any kind of university mathematics.