Material to learn some basic combinatorics?

Question

I realize that I'm pretty weak when It comes to basic combinatorics, even with simple things like n choose k I don't feel confident. Furthermore, I've viewed some combinatorics books and the reasoning behind almost all solutions do not make sense to me.

So I'm asking if anyone would advice me on what material to buy or look at to start understanding some basic combinatorics. Keep in mind I'm in high-school. I prefer videos like khan Academy.

Also I figure that because I'm asking this on this site, which is not really of low level, I'm going to get some high level in depth books. But this isn't really what I'm looking for. I'm just looking to gain an intuition for combinatorics problems.

Try mathematics of choice: how to count without counting. Here is a link to a google preview. — JMoravitz, Jul 22 '16 at 20:21
This video series explains not only the basics, but also why our mind finds it hard, in what way, and how to overcome the hardships: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrfA8mKOIjI
Also, an elementary and thorough exposition, from the ground up, can be found in this little book: https://www.amazon.com/Discrete-Mathematics-Highschooler-Alexander-Sadovsky/dp/1453869670/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469220406&sr=8-1&keywords=sadovsky+discrete+mathematics — avs, Jul 22 '16 at 20:42
Does this answer your question? Undergrad-level combinatorics texts easier than Stanley's Enumerative Combinatorics? — , Jul 18 '21 at 20:25

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 22 '16 at 20:51

2

Concrete Mathematics by Donald Knuth. I think everyone who hasn't tried this book should see it.

answered Jul 22 '16 at 20:51

Asinomás

105,651

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 22 '16 at 21:01

2

Enumerative Combinatorics by Richard Stanley Volume 1, and Volume 2.

answered Jul 22 '16 at 21:01

dadexix86

970
5
16

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 09 '16 at 20:05

For beginners, AoPS(Art of Problem Solving)'s Introduction to Counting and Probability provides stable basics and introduces proofs. AoPS also offers an online community to discuss math, online classes, and counting videos.

Material to learn some basic combinatorics?

3 Answers3

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