What does the author gain from this statement? Now, if I were to be interested in this book, I would now be not interested and would encourage others to avoid it.
On the contrary, I like that the author spells out clear guidance on what is necessary preparation for the material. It lets me know right away if I should keep reading or look for more introductory material.
I didn't read it as rude. Rather a "hey you better know what you're signing up for here".
I don't think the author gains anything. On the contrary, as a reader I gain something from this statement. It's not "now would be an excellent time to leave and you should feel bad you stupid person", it's "now would be an excellent time to leave so that you don't waste your time trying to build a house on a junk foundation". If anything, it's courteous.
The author doesn’t gain anything, it’s entirely to help the reader understand their own readiness for the material. It’s not rude, it’s straightforward and matter of fact.
If you don’t meet the prerequisites, you should avoid the material. Not because the author has stated the obvious, but because you’re not prepared for it. If you’d like you can interpret it as rudeness, but really it’s intended to help people save time instead of waste it.
The first thing I do when I open a new textbook is flip to the preface material to see what the prerequisites are and how firm they are. Sometimes “passing familiarity” is enough, sometimes “mathematical maturity” is enough. But there are many treatments where that is not the case, and it’s better for everyone who’s serious about the material to be upfront about it.
Then the correct approach is "you are likely not ready for this material, I recommend you do XYZ and come back".
There's no problem with telling a reader they are not ready for a text - in fact, it can save them time. The way in which you do it though can encourage or discourage a student.
From the title, I'm very interested in the topic since a portion of my job is some form of data analysis and aggregation.
However, it's been 15 years since my Linear Algebra course and I haven't done Multivariate Calculus since high school, which even then was just a very basic introduction to the topic. I'm too far removed from that level of math at this point in my life. Further, the data I'm looking at doesn't often lend itself toward linear regressions or mathematical analysis. At least, not in a meaningful sense. It's rare that even a simple standard deviation is even particularly useful.
I appreciate that the author tells me up front the type of paper being presented isn't the type of paper I'm interested in reading even though.
> What does the author gain from this statement? Now, if I were to be interested in this book, I would now be not interested and would encourage others to avoid it.
That's not very rational. That your feelings are hurt has no impact on how good or bad the book is.
Don't need to be rational. Human beings aren't rational.
> That your feelings are hurt has no impact on how good or bad the book is.
It could be a great book, but if somebody is rude then (some are suggesting that the comment is tongue-in-cheek but meh) I don't really need to engage with that person. There are plenty of great books that cover this material so I would just suggest others to look elsewhere instead. Ultimately - I don't reward poor behavior. There are very few people who could make a significant enough contribution that I would give a pass on rude behavior towards others, particularly if they are condescending or mean for no reason.
I also found it peculiar that you would believe that my feelings would be hurt. Why would they be? I just found out about this particular book and have no emotional attachment to it, nor the author whatsoever. Maybe you're defensive because you believe the book is good and worthy of being read despite the author's rudeness? That would certainly better explain your need to attempt to attack my "rationality" and suggest that my "feelings were hurt" alongside posting a link that wasn't worth reading.
For whatever it’s worth, he seems to be a dedicated teacher who posts self criticisms of his courses publicly online. The course this book is based on has grown quite successful as well.
I’m not sure if you’re just trolling, but encouraging others to avoid this book might be a mistake. It’s quite good.
rubidium|8 years ago
I didn't read it as rude. Rather a "hey you better know what you're signing up for here".
dchapp|8 years ago
dsacco|8 years ago
If you don’t meet the prerequisites, you should avoid the material. Not because the author has stated the obvious, but because you’re not prepared for it. If you’d like you can interpret it as rudeness, but really it’s intended to help people save time instead of waste it.
The first thing I do when I open a new textbook is flip to the preface material to see what the prerequisites are and how firm they are. Sometimes “passing familiarity” is enough, sometimes “mathematical maturity” is enough. But there are many treatments where that is not the case, and it’s better for everyone who’s serious about the material to be upfront about it.
muninn_|8 years ago
There's no problem with telling a reader they are not ready for a text - in fact, it can save them time. The way in which you do it though can encourage or discourage a student.
da_chicken|8 years ago
From the title, I'm very interested in the topic since a portion of my job is some form of data analysis and aggregation.
However, it's been 15 years since my Linear Algebra course and I haven't done Multivariate Calculus since high school, which even then was just a very basic introduction to the topic. I'm too far removed from that level of math at this point in my life. Further, the data I'm looking at doesn't often lend itself toward linear regressions or mathematical analysis. At least, not in a meaningful sense. It's rare that even a simple standard deviation is even particularly useful.
I appreciate that the author tells me up front the type of paper being presented isn't the type of paper I'm interested in reading even though.
fwdpropaganda|8 years ago
That's not very rational. That your feelings are hurt has no impact on how good or bad the book is.
That is a great example of a previous conversation about feelings here on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16384453
muninn_|8 years ago
Don't need to be rational. Human beings aren't rational.
> That your feelings are hurt has no impact on how good or bad the book is.
It could be a great book, but if somebody is rude then (some are suggesting that the comment is tongue-in-cheek but meh) I don't really need to engage with that person. There are plenty of great books that cover this material so I would just suggest others to look elsewhere instead. Ultimately - I don't reward poor behavior. There are very few people who could make a significant enough contribution that I would give a pass on rude behavior towards others, particularly if they are condescending or mean for no reason.
I also found it peculiar that you would believe that my feelings would be hurt. Why would they be? I just found out about this particular book and have no emotional attachment to it, nor the author whatsoever. Maybe you're defensive because you believe the book is good and worthy of being read despite the author's rudeness? That would certainly better explain your need to attempt to attack my "rationality" and suggest that my "feelings were hurt" alongside posting a link that wasn't worth reading.
kevinalexbrown|8 years ago
For whatever it’s worth, he seems to be a dedicated teacher who posts self criticisms of his courses publicly online. The course this book is based on has grown quite successful as well.
I’m not sure if you’re just trolling, but encouraging others to avoid this book might be a mistake. It’s quite good.
whorleater|8 years ago