Are there any mathematicians here?

Cromulent

Cromulent

Cromulent

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I'm looking to learn all about Digital Signal Processing and to do that I need to have a firm grasp of calculus and complex numbers and I was wondering what the best way to get that knowledge is.

I've bought a GCSE maths revision guide to remind myself of GCSE maths and then I was thinking of getting A-level maths, and further maths AS and A-level revision guides so that I could get myself up to a level where I could buy some undergraduate maths books on Digital Signal Processing.

Does this seem like the best course of action or is there a better option at all? I'd like to get my skills up to speed as quickly as possible as I have an electronics project in mind that requires this knowledge.
 
It depends on your fundamentals. If those are weak, you will struggle with the harder mathematical concepts.

In that regard, yes - starting from the very bottom and working your way up is a good strategy. You could also make use of Khan Academy to do this.
 
Exam solutiosn & khan academy make decent videos for this. Complex numbers is a year 1 university/further maths topic so you will want to get some further pure maths textbooks for practice questions etc
 
Ask on here we will help you. Did all this at uni about 20 years ago but don't really remember any of it.

I assume it's for programming, AI, Physics?
 
Minusorange said:
Linear Algebra is probably the most important

https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-6-007-signals-and-systems-spring-2011/video-lectures/

will introduce you to the rest
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I was going to point you to the MIT open courseware site too OP

Strang's lectures are great for revision - sounds like the OP would need to review single variable calculus and multi variable calculus first too:

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-01sc-single-variable-calculus-fall-2010/

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-02sc-multivariable-calculus-fall-2010/

might also want to take a look at the linear systems and optimisation courses here:

https://see.stanford.edu/Course

Boyd is great for optimisation

lastly there is a DSP course on coursera:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/dsp

and they published a textbook too - available free online:

http://www.sp4comm.org/download.html
 
Get "Matrix Operations" from Schaumm's Outlines series. Work through it until you can find eigenvalues in your sleep. Next, you need to understand frequency, the complex plane, Laplace and Fourier Analysis. Then, you need a DSP reference. Much better ones are available in book form ("Understanding Digital Signal Processing" by Richard G. Lyons, again work through the exercises with him and you'll crack it).
 
How far did you do maths at school (GCSE, AS, A2 etc.), what grades did you get and how long ago was that?
 
dl8860 said:
How far did you do maths at school (GCSE, AS, A2 etc.), what grades did you get and how long ago was that?
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I was a bit of a loser at school. I was more interested in smoking the funny stuff and seeing my friends. Having said that I did do Computer Science at University.

It would be best if I started from scratch which is why I bought a GCSE maths revision guide. After that, I'll likely do the A-level maths and further maths and then look at the books that everyone was kind enough to recommend.

I've been playing around with a bit of software called GNU Octave which is an open source version of Matlab, and it is helping me to solidify the knowledge I am learning from books.
 
Cromulent said:
I was a bit of a loser at school. I was more interested in smoking the funny stuff and seeing my friends. Having said that I did do Computer Science at University.

It would be best if I started from scratch which is why I bought a GCSE maths revision guide. After that, I'll likely do the A-level maths and further maths and then look at the books that everyone was kind enough to recommend.

I've been playing around with a bit of software called GNU Octave which is an open source version of Matlab, and it is helping me to solidify the knowledge I am learning from books.
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But to answer the original question where did you get with your maths? GCSE / Alevels? From GCSE -> modern DSP techniques is a long haul commitment (like > 6 years part time) and I'd definitely recommend you get an experienced tutor to guide you through the process. I'm not at all trying to put you off but being realistic about the difficulty stepping up from GCSE maths.
 
ultralaser said:
But to answer the original question where did you get with your maths? GCSE / Alevels? From GCSE -> modern DSP techniques is a long haul commitment (like > 6 years part time) and I'd definitely recommend you get an experienced tutor to guide you through the process. I'm not at all trying to put you off but being realistic about the difficulty stepping up from GCSE maths.
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Yeah, I would be careful about underestimating how difficult this could be if you didn't do A level maths or failing that did very well at GCSE. I think human brains are at a peak of learning ability around the age you normally do A levels and it's hard enough then with 4 hours of lessons every single week.

I'm not trying to put you off or anything, I wish you the best of luck, as ultralaser says, a tutor will probably be a sound investment unless you are willing to put in a lot of hours of study and have reams of patience.
 
if he's got a CS degree he's probably covered some of the undergrad maths required no? I mean I guess the subject is a bit variable and CS degrees at some universities can probably be a bit soft but I'd assume that the basics of calculus, linear algebra etc.. would just be a case of revision. Certainly shouldn't take 6 years part time.
 
Loves Love Island said:
if he's got a CS degree he's probably covered some of the undergrad maths required no? I mean I guess the subject is a bit variable and CS degrees at some universities can probably be a bit soft but I'd assume that the basics of calculus, linear algebra etc.. would just be a case of revision. Certainly shouldn't take 6 years part time.
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Depends massively on the course and if it's comp sci or business IT or similar to be honest. If you've done a CS degree and are wanting to review GCSE maths then I'd assume very little maths at all?
 
ultralaser said:
Depends massively on the course and if it's comp sci or business IT or similar to be honest. If you've done a CS degree and are wanting to review GCSE maths then I'd assume very little maths at all?
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I haven't done any maths in years. The degree was ages ago (I'm 33), and I've forgotten just about everything. I'd prefer to start again at the beginning and work my self back up to a decent level. If that means having to start from GCSE, then I'm prepared to do that. I don't want to leave any gaps in my knowledge and frankly going through the GCSE revision guide shouldn't take me long at all. Maybe a couple of weeks and then I can move onto A-level.
 
Cromulent said:
I haven't done any maths in years. The degree was ages ago (I'm 33), and I've forgotten just about everything. I'd prefer to start again at the beginning and work my self back up to a decent level. If that means having to start from GCSE, then I'm prepared to do that. I don't want to leave any gaps in my knowledge and frankly going through the GCSE revision guide shouldn't take me long at all. Maybe a couple of weeks and then I can move onto A-level.
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You're probably best off learning Electronics theory first as that will get you refreshed on some basic maths and give you a footing which will lead you well into the Linear Algebra and Fourier equations you'll need to get your head around for SDR and DSP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpqwAasxY7U&list=PLFt_ar31D2E8T1kACn_Y9akyObmH2GHP6&index=1

Is a good playlist for Electronics basics/complexes
 
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