Does anyone know if DVDs on how to teach yourself Algebra and Calculus really work? I'm looking into buying DVDs to teach myself calculus, even though I am on a budget. Do DVDs work?

I am wondering the answer of this question too. I did not try them.

 

mcal6, can you post urls of some of these DVDs. This may help you to find an answer to your question too..

Ugh, I wouldn't trust them. Why not just use books and the Internet? That's tried and tested.

no, use books. maybe the internet if you're desperate

books and internet are great. i don't see how dvds could hurt. i think discussion helps a lot too. especially with people who are at a more advanced level(as long as their not insecure and condescending as many mathematicians tend to be).

 

also, try studying the works of great mathematicians in addition to the regular straight forward text book.

 

dunham has some great books that explain the ideas of the greats(Euler: The Master of Us All, Journey Through Genius, etc...)

 

a book i really enjoyed reading was The Historical Development of The Calculus. it explains the beautiful ideas from archimedes to fermat and descartes to newton and liebniz to riemann and cauchy. Check out the chapter on Euler...especially the section on his logarithmic and exponential functions(the definition of the number e). Great book...highly recomended.