[PD] newbie aspirations, math, logic, and questions

[Andrew (Andy) W. Schmeder]

> Questions 2: where to learn about this stuff. I am an undergraduate philosophy major so I know some formal logic. I have very little math though, what math would help me? What classes might help me learn to do this sort of programming? I figure it can't but help me in my studies anyway.

I can summarize the math topics as such;

- basic trigonometry (sin, cos, tangent, etc)
- some basic calculus (integrals, derivatives -- tells you stuff about
the signal, how much energy, etc) (first two semesters of calculus)
- the fourier transform (how to understand 'frequency space')
  (typically found in the fourth semester of calculus)
  (and this topic is VERY important (and often not well understood))
- theory of filters (look for signal processing courses, or in some
physics, espcially electronics, courses)

That's just the basics...

You can learn this stuff in physics and statistics also.  In physics it
might be more 'to the point' because physics is about modelling, not
theory.

As for the formal logic, it might help your understanding but most math
classes don't use it until you get into the advanced topics.


andy