mfs who get paid by the hour to sort lists of 10 numbers
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No one ever tells me I’m good at something so I’m glad to accept the compliment 
I think I had thought about going this way as well but I also believed it wasn’t permitted for some reason… not sure why.
What I mean is, adding an extra step after every bidirectional step
- Compare ‘a’ with ‘b’.
- 2a) (hypothesis: ‘a’ is major) Swap ‘a’ with ‘b’.
- 2b) (hypothesis: ‘b’ is major) Don’t do anything.
→ 3. Check if the scale is ordered as per directives.
But if it automatically works after everything is aligned, like the pins of a lock when you put in the right key, then that step is unnecessary
Also @Vanilla finally they unlocked the math subreddit and I got some answers to my question, some users suggested to add some discrete mathematics to the list
(Numbers (1.5, etc.) refer to the old sequence, I updated it since then)
As 1.5 or 2.2 (some prefer to have a little calculus under their belt, though it’s not needed at all). Something that would be under discrete mathematics would probably be proofs (logical connectives, induction, proof by contradiction, etc), then move onto combinatorics and some classic applications (combinations, permutations, some generating functions (this would be the reason to push it to 2.2)), then graph theory (probably the most useful to CS, includes trees, cycles, paths, coloring problems, traveling salesman problem, etc. (Though linear algebra isn’t really used here, sometimes the objects we like to use in it, matrices, can be helpful to represent some of the stuff in graph theory)). So in actuality you’d wanna break discrete mathematics into two sections. 1.5 being logic and proofs, and probably 2.3 being combinatorics and graphs. Following a textbook for these would be best for these. They are very broad and can go in many different directions making it easy to lose sight of the goal, you also need A LOT of practice problems. There are some really good books too on these subjects so might as well make use of them"
Do you think it may be useful given my goals?
Also another one told me:
I think your linear algebra section is about 1/3 the length of what it should be. It is of both theoretical and practical importance to know how to generate and manipulate various matrix factorization schemes. Learn them well for their geometric picture, utility, and cost to create. If your matrices have float values, which ones are numerically stiff? What relaxation methods can be applied in which situation?
Thoughts?
Didn’t you already have logic in there?
That’s inside learning algorithms, I feel.
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Yes indeed, the reddit post is of 5 days ago I think
So you don’t suggest accounting any of the users suggestions?
I will be happy to follow your advice then, also because you on here better know my goals
Well, the very first sorting algorithm I coded was also a bubble sort, like mariodesu (but I didn’t know the name back then of course!). It seems fairly natural to me to try to put every item at its right place, one by one. Coming up with a non O(n2) algorithm is much harder, I feel.
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Yes I agree!
What’s that? Bubble sort was hard mode, now I want to try god mode
Oh, I skipped combinatorics, which I didn’t really know what they meant, but after looking up, yeah I’d say it’s important to understand for some stuff, like when solving problems/programming and for statistics.
Other than that,
I don’t know if it’s a language issue, but I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, lol. I was never too into matrix stuff, I just did it and forgot about it, but it’s probably important and useful in some cases. I still don’t think we ever heard about something being numerically stiff, or about relaxation methods..
When they say geometric picture, utility, and cost to create, what comes to mind are data structures, which again are inside algorithms, but I think that one’s just out of my expertise (I’m no expert in anything).
I hope you mean the royal “you” here, cuz I’m fine giving advice, but I don’t want you to take it as gospel. 
In the end, it doesn’t really matter if you add these to your plans, they’ll come up anyway eventually, but I don’t know how much of this is my bias of already knowing about some topics beforehand.
So, whatever you prefer.
To be fair, they sound like they know what they’re talking about more than me, but other people here can probably guide you better.
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Before that, based on how your solution look like I think maybe @Vanilla has a next assignment in mind 
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When you put it like that, it makes sense. I don’t know what the first sorting algorithm I made would have been because it would have been nearly a decade ago probably, but for whatever reason my mind now goes to just making sure its not not sorted lol. Because if its not not sorted it has to be sorted! Maybe all those proofs by contradiction made me start thinking backwards >_>
Haha, are you referring to making it not 5 elements by chance? Originally I was just kinda using it as an example for what it means to think algorithmically and actually break down a process that feels simple. If @mariodesu wants more though, I’m always happy to oblige. Im sure some other people here would have great problems as well.
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Great, where would you add them exactly? Basing on the new updated list on the other post
Nice, Vanilla is an awesome 先生!
I would assume so, but I can’t give too reliable advice from the standpoint of wanting to get into LLM research. My CS major required discrete mathematics and I felt like I got a good amount out of that class.
The reality is though, if you want to get into LLM R&D you’re probably going to need a degree that would end up requiring discrete math anyways, so from that point, yeah its necessary. But also from that standpoint, if you’re going to have to take that class in college anyways, theres no real reason to do it yourself that I can think of. If I were in your shoes, right now I would be 100% focused on what do I need to do to get myself into a college program that will guide me to the learning and credentials I will need. So, imo, I would just consider focusing on what you need to succeed in college algebra for the time being.
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Also all this sorting talk has me revisiting this great video
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Maybe I’m misunderstanding mariodesu notation?
When I read [Swap ‘b’ with ‘e’.] I think he expect the computer to swap b and e irregardles of the position of b and e ?
Like [b, a, c, e, d] → [e, a, c, b, d]
So I thought the next step would be to devise an algorithm puerilely based on position, more computer-like (swap second item with fourth item)
Sorry if I misunderstood.
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I thought so too at first, but he said
Which led me to believe a,b,c,d,e was just short hand for 1st ele,2nd ele, 3rd ele, 4th ele, 5th ele
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I heard of relaxation methods, but I think in the context of math in physics specifically.
Other than that, yes matrix operations are super important to understand for any form of machine learning or even “simple” math related to data filtering and transformations.
Case in point, all algorithms used for 2D image pre-processing rely on matrix operations. Similar concepts of matrix operations would also be used by neural networks when transforming data.
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I see, your point is totally solid, but I’ll tell you, in the beginning it was more of a thing “let’s learn everything I need to get into college and then just study the college program” but now I’m not sure anymore I’ll go for it.
I already have an ok career and am in a comfortable position that pays me decently. If I’ll ever move to CS industry either for R&D or simple SD or whatever, it will be because of passion or because (hypothesis) I’d be paid substantially more/have a substantial improvement in work flexibility (which for what I’ve heard is the case in this industry). Also, I don’t know how it works in your countries but I can major in no time here if I have the right knowledge so I could just go as far as I can by myself for the next 1-3 years and then consider wether joining college/private courses, but meanwhile I would like to at least have a coherent and comprehensive mathematics plan
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Nono, as Vanilla says below those letters are merely representative of the positions
Is this already present in the list of the other thread?