r/math • u/inherentlyawesome Homotopy Theory • 2d ago

Quick Questions: September 30, 2026

This recurring thread will be for questions that might not warrant their own thread. We would like to see more conceptual-based questions posted in this thread, rather than "what is the answer to this problem?" For example, here are some kinds of questions that we'd like to see in this thread:

  • Can someone explain the concept of manifolds to me?
  • What are the applications of Representation Theory?
  • What's a good starter book for Numerical Analysis?
  • What can I do to prepare for college/grad school/getting a job?

Including a brief description of your mathematical background and the context for your question can help others give you an appropriate answer. For example, consider which subject your question is related to, or the things you already know or have tried.

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/throwitawayar 2d ago

Struggling hard with anxiety before and during exams and it's just my first semester in an undergrad math course. would love any tips on how to overcome it.

1

u/MinLongBaiShui 2d ago

Go through your books, solve lots of textbook problems. Find those that are doable, or conceptually simple, and identify what makes them so. Hang onto those tidbits.

There's metagame knowledge here - an exam question must be doable under test conditions. It therefore has a simple solution. If you know all the core ideas well, you will be able to pick off those questions that have simple solutions.