I’m dreaming of a 9th grade geometry book. (age 14) many textbooks include lessons and examples— but all I want are the bare essentials:
definitions, axioms, theorems, problem sets
I’m dreaming of a spartan little book light enough to tuck in a large handbag or back pocket. But not so alien and obtuse as to be useless. When you start the year it looks like gibberish, by the end every page is an old friend (or enemy.)
Do I need to make this from scratch?
Anyone teach with such a book?
@futurebird I always wanted a geometry text that was circle focused, that led to trig and geometry. When you explain things that way to students who don’t have the math background for the way trig is traditionally taught, it’s all intuition and nothing else up front. But to me that’s the better organizing principal.
Avoids the rote gibberish that geometry inevitably dumps on you, and gives you a mental scaffolding for basic geometry by the time it’s presented.
@futurebird The standard Russian textbook by Pogorelov is how I learned geometry and it meets most of your criteria, idk if it has been translated though.
I don't know about the reprints (this translation is now in the public domain), but the original Everyman's edition fits easily in the pocket of my cargo pants.
@futurebird I picked up one book from this publisher (Wooden Books) at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle a few weeks ago. "The Diagram Harmonic Geometry" which I have just started reading but is a small form factor, so far very well written with lots of illustrations, and seems close to what you want. They have a LOT of other books with a similar form factor.
@futurebird probably not exactly what you’re after but https://www.c82.net/euclid is a about as bare essentials as you can get (this is the free online version, there are also printed versions)
@futurebird I’m EE. Best class ever was chem engineering. At start of class was a problem on board. Couldn’t read it, too many new words. It was the homework. OMG!! I’ll flunk. Class proceeds point by point. By end we looked back at problem - trivial - simple example. Best experience with seeing myself learn. Don’t have book for you, but hope you find it. If not, why don’t you write it!
@futurebird I love the old cyphering books you see in archives. Students would take math lessons and after getting corrections, would add the new lesson to their book. So each student would write (and in many cases illustrate) their own math book to be carried with them as reference later. Useful things needed in a warehouse or on a ship. A combined workbook and textbook written to the students own needs and shorthand. They’re very impressive!
I don’t know of any, but I’ve seen math books that Asian international students have (so they don’t fall behind their peers at home). Their books looked like your description, at least, on the outside.
since 1954 and it's still readable and accessible and my 1960ish edition is the size of a short pulp fiction novel. Slightly larger than a modern smartphone.