Trevor B's Messageboard
Hi there! My name is Trevor B. I've been on Brilliant for about a year now. A lot of great stuff has happened because of it. I've gotten a lot better at math, learned about computer science, interacted with a lot of great people, and I appreciate all that the community has done for me.
This is my messageboard. If you have a question for me, go ahead and ask. I'm excited for your questions. Thanks!
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Trevor B.
7 years, 1 month ago
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Easy Math Editor
This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.
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What Sources You Used for Learn Programming?
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I used Codecademy. It's a great site for learning new programming languages. I'll be learning Java after I get through my AP exams next month.
One of the things that's funny about it is the question set when you arrive to the site. I won't spoil the surprise ;)
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Why do you want to learn Java?
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Hi @Thaddeus Abiy
What Sources You Used for Learn Programming?
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I learned how to program back in 8th grade I think on some website(I dont remember which). I didn't have internet back then so I used to write small programs,scripts and games when I didn't have much to do. Eventually I began to do large projects with friends(software projects/websites/AIs).I also practiced on hard problems on projecteuler/topcoder/codeforces..etc. Thats basically It : practice. I wouldn't call my self very good though,there are many programmers better than I am here.
@Ivan Koswara,@Brian Chen I really admire your solutions,maybe you guys could share your sources and experience with CS?
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My dad used to be a CS professor, so I was exposed to it early. I learned my first language, Java, from a Deitel book, and later from various parts of the official Java tutorials, but I've almost entirely stopped writing it; instead I spend my time with Haskell, Scala, C++, Python, and occasionally JavaScript and some other languages, all of which were completely learned online. I also read Introduction to Algorithms and participated in programming competitions, both online (CodeForces + TopCoder, as mentioned) and locally, as well as going to training camps and sites. I have a few silly personal projects on GitHub. That's pretty much it.
What did you use to build websites? There's a website I want to make but I don't know what I'll eventually be making it in.
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I am no expert in this field, But HTML 5 is the best. Good for beginners, not to complex but extremely powerful.
It was a simple complementary website for a software we developed so I didn't involve myself with it too much,I was building the software. We used a web builder(similar to frontpage/dreamweaver)..If you are building a large website with a lot of functions you can use a webframework like django which has great tutorials at neckbeardrepublic.com. @Beakal Tiliksew can give you details b/c he was in charge of the website.
I Don't Have Classes of Programming ! By This That I'm Trying Learn With Sources of People Experts !
Thank You ! All the Best !
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That is what I am doing to.
I hear that it's a pretty good language to learn. It complements Python pretty well.
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Yes it is a very useful language to know,especially if you want to get into hardcore development(apps/applets/etc..). I learnt a little bit a while back. It is structured around OOP so if you are familiar with it in python it should be easy to catch. I myself am thinking of learning LISP or Haskell,they are very cool languages. If I have some time maybe even one of these .
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA yes that's my favorite part. :D
I'm not too great at programming, but I can totally recommend Codecademy! It's excellent for interactively learning tons of languages as well as a good interface for writing code. It's also really addicting and fun.
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This Site I Already Know ! Thanks !
I Need of More Sources !
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Oh, in that case, Khan Academy can teach you a lot about JavaScript. Its interface is also really clean and it doesn't bug easily, so I've used it a lot.
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Actually Khan Academy uses a sub-library of JavaScript,called processing.js I think
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Possibly.
What Are Your Top Study Sources?
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I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean for math or just for school in general?
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(This comment is not suitable for teachers. Viewer's discretion advised)
Ok, so basing off of what Finn says, I'm going to answer this in a math context.
I do what I call Wikipedia surfing. I pick up some concept, somewhere. It doesn't really matter what. I look it up on Wikipedia, learn about it, and move to the links in the page that Wikipedia gives you. I do this a bunch, and then (Teachers can begin reading here) I go on sites like AOPS and Wolfram Mathworld and learn about them there.
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i do that too! :D ^5 wikipedia surfing ftw :D
I don't go to Wikipedia. Seriously, the articles on Wikipedia is too hard for me. I would prefer Wolfram|Alpha and AoPS. For example, try search
and compare. The article on Wikipedia is insane! You read all of it?
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I agree with you, for example any mathematical concepts you search in Wikipedia it uses calculus to teach you.So I don't prefer Wikipedia, while wolfram and Aops are the best.
Oh, yeah dude I feel you there. But Aops is still the best out of all of them.
Exactly what I do.
For Mathematics and Computer Science !
Can Be Books , Sites , Magazines and More !
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I learned Python from Codecademy, but I don't remember if I got it from anywhere else.
As for math, I have a ton of math books at my house, such as Mathematics Without the Boring Bits, Sciencia, The Joy of X (though this one is less math as it is an entertaining take on pre-college math), as well as a bunch of chemistry-related books, like The Disappearing Spoon and Elements (by Theodore Gray, who is completely awesome, and the one from Euclid is on my next birthday's wish list. I can never remember my birthday and what I want for it and I always end up having to wait another year).
As for sites, I use Brilliant mostly, as well as what I said with Wikipedia.
I have a rival in my class. We challenge each other with tough problems and try to one-up each other. Were both always trying to get better to be prepared for anything the other throws at us. Competition is a great way to learn as long as you don't let the idea of a competition stuck in your head. We are using the other to get better at math.
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Can you list more chemistry-related books you felt interesting? I can't find any :(
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I wish I could... It's a shame I've only gotten really interested in chemistry in the last six months, which have been the busiest of my life. As with learning chemistry, I'll find some over the summer. Sorry I couldn't help you here.
However, I went through my library, and I forgot to mention the Visions of Infinity is an excellent introduction to some of math's greatest problems, such as Fermat's Last Theorem and the Riemann Hypothesis.
Art of Problem Solving is a really great site. I also like using OPLET to get an unlimited source of MATHCOUNTS problems, but it costs money. And of course, Khan Academy.
What do you think of this problem? if you like it please share it or/and participate.
Hey Trevor! Is there a reason besides privacy that your last name is abbreviated?
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No, it's privacy.
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Are you sure it's not because it's some wacky 3-syllable name? :P
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No, that's not a reason.
I guess another reason is for nostalgia's sake. What I have used to be how Brilliant displayed names.
What math class are you in?
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AP Calculus AB, but I'm sort of teaching myself Multi. The notation on Wikipedia is hard to get at first, and I don't have any books for it, but I'll find something eventually.
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Nice! You're in 10th grade, right?
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Yes. I'll be taking BC next year and then Stats and Multi senior year.
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Cool! I'm in Algebra 1 in 7th grade right now, but next year I'm accelerating into precalculus or trigonometry. Possibly calculus AB if I have enough time to test in.
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I won't advise Calculus AB in 8th grade. You need 4 years of math to pass high school...
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Yeah haha, I'll be writing my thesis paper in 11th grade. :D
I found your calculus problems quite intriguing and healthy. Can you give me some tips on improving my calculus?