#559 overall
Order-of-Magnitude Physics (Art of Approximation)
edX
1 recommender · 1 thread · recommended in 1 year, 2016 · score 1.0
An edX course by Sanjoy Mahajan teaching order-of-magnitude estimation and approximation techniques for solving physics and everyday quantitative problems quickly. It is based on his book on approximation and the art of insight in science and engineering.
Commenters say it made them fearless about unfamiliar math problems and changed their intuition for numbers, and one credits it with helping them in job interviews.
Science & Engineeringintermediatevideo lectures#estimation#approximation#physics#mahajan#problem solving
Recommendations by year
20062026
I took a version of this class (called The Art of Approximation) with Dr. Mahajan when he was a visiting professor at Olin College. The course helped me become fearless about tackling a broad range of math problems I knew little about, and has helped me in countless real life situations from financial planning to major work decisions.
Also, it's a great intro on good ways to nail PM interviews, at least at Google (where I now work, thanks in no small part to the lessons from this class).
If you have a spare few hours, read this book or take his classes on edX. It'll absolutely change your intuition for numbers.