#039: How to Relearn Math from Scratch, Valley of Code, Practical Advice on Getting Most Out of AI

Hi All!

We are pleased to welcome you to this week's edition of Undiscovered, a newsletter with exclusive resources and insights expanding from the material found on our main site - becketu.com.

This week, we will take a look at a website that tells you 'everything you've ever wanted to know about how the internet really works', how to relearn math from scratch, practical advice on getting the most out of AI, and more. Let's dive in:

The Valley of Code

If you have an interest in web development, you need to visit The Valley of Code. It first came on my radar after seeing Twxtter user @carmguti tweet out:

It has 16 units that range from learning the fundamentals of the internet including the basics of computer networks and protocols, all the way to using different libraries and frameworks.
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We think this would be great to pair with The Odin Project, as the two give a fully comprehensive overview of what web development entails.

Relearning Math From Scratch

Twxtter user @sigbing caught my attention as he shared how he he was going to 'relearn maths' after 5 years. His strategy was simple, but applicable towards anyone:

1. Sign up for mathacademy.com​
2. Proceed with diagnostic test
3. Revisit and revise foundational areas
4. Aim for 70+ XP everyday (~5-8 topics)
5. Finish maths for machine learning by January 2025

What I like about Math Academy, is that it has a similar feel to Khan Academy but with more 'skin in the game'. There is a $49/month fee per student, but I think that paying for a service sometimes motivates us to use it, as opposed to having it freely available to use at our leisure.
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It's a flexible program that grows alongside the user, and will most likely be our first stop when we want to seriously brush up on our math skills.

A Game Theory Interview Question

It's not every day when you come across a game theory question in the wild, but a recent example popped up on our timeline and we couldn't help but share. It's a BlackRock interview question that states the following:

Thing about what your answer would be for a moment. User @teodor_io came up with a solution, that may be simpler than you thought:

The Best Upcoming Educational Channel on YouTube

One of the best educational channels on YouTube I have recently come across is Rational Animations. The best way I can describe it is a mix between Kurzgesagt and 3Blue1Brown. It doesn't just tackle math, but lots of interesting concepts like charter cities, how to eradicate global poverty, and how one career can save millions of lives.

They 'aim to promote good-thinking, altruistic causes' and are 'particularly focused on AI Safety and AI Alignment: making sure present and future AI Systems are aligned with human values and don't cause our extinction.' On top of their own original productions, they also offer custom production services which is rare and notable.

Best Practical Advice on How to Get the Most out of AI

This was another tweet that caught my attention for how practical the advice is when it comes to getting the most out of AI. @VictorTaelin describes the correct approach to using Large Language Models below:

Taelin @VictorTaelin Also, most of you are using LLMs wrong. STOP asking it to solve a problem. YOU solve the problem. YOU describe the solution. IT writes the code. THAT is the ultimate productivity boost. If you ask it to think and solve the problem for you, you're gonna have a bad time. https://twitter.com/VictorTaelin/status/1810312884095709318 Taelin @VictorTaelin PSA: if you don't use LLMs for coding because you've finally acquired enough evidence to convince yourself they "can't reason", you're both 100% right, and about to be left behind just like these who refused to use Google, or git when they came out. 10:17 AM • Jul 8, 2024 236 Retweets 2420 Likes Read 56 replies

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Our favorite ways of coding and using AI at the moment are Supermaven, cosigned by @thekitze on Twxtter, along with Claude by Anthropic.

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J.B.