On 25/10/2010 11:01 PM, Lauri Alanko wrote:
On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 10:10:56PM +0100, Andrew Coppin wrote:
Type theory doesn't actually interest me, I just wandered what the hell all the notation means. That sounds like an oxymoron. How could you possibly learn what the notation "means" without learning about the subject that the notation is about? That's like saying "I'm not actually interested in calculus, I'd just like to know what the hell all these funny S-like symbols mean".
You can explain the integral notation in a few short sentences without having to undergo an entire semester of integral calculus training. Hell, the other night I was laying in bed with my girlfriend (who hates mathematics) and I managed to make her understand what a partial derivative is. Now of course if you needed to *use* integral calculus for something, that's another matter entirely. But just to get the gist of what it's about and what it's for is much simpler.
So I will add voice to those recommending TAPL.
OK, well maybe I'll see if somebody will buy it for me for Christmas or something...