Friday, January 18, 2008 at 7:55 PM what is all this duck shit? anyways
I posted this on the RMP site and a math prof got offended.
Why do publishers and math professors put out new math textbook editions every year? As far as my understanding, we have not discovered new math theories in the past year. What’s the point of requiring students to buy the latest edition? For Christ’s sake, you can throw a math book in the galaxy, and in 50 years someone will discover it, and we will still be using the same theories/concepts.
Oh and here’s some advice to math professors who are writing a textbook: Don’t overdo it with words. A math book is not a novel, don’t include any stories or incorporate any images of athletes/celebrities. I was shocked when I saw Oprah’s ass in my stats book. Just keep it simple and show us how to use the formulas step by step!
My main issue is that I’m trying to sell all of my math books from the past 3 years of taking courses. The problem is ALL textbooks have been updated and the old ones cannot be substituted. I understand it’s a business, but do math authors have to act like snake-oil salesman?
Re: math textbooks
posted by: MathProfJC Posted 2 minutes ago
Fri, Jan 18, 08 at 10:46:10 EST
(In reply to ilovealameda) FYI - (1) It is the publishing company, not your professors that do this. (2) They are updated every three years, not every year. Why didn't you sell the books right after the class was over? Don't bother answering, just ask yourself that question. I really don't care what the answer is.
—adams_babymomma | 
