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I recently finished my 9th grade and I'm beginning to want to skip ahead and learn Linear Algebra throughout the summer, mainly because I want to know it to program my own games in OpenGL with C++. I already made couple of games before, but now I need to know Linear Algebra to learn OpenGL with ease.

My math skills is quite limited, as it's only up to grade 9 level, which is Algebra 1. I don't know functions and what not, passed linear equations, but I do know a bit of trigonometry. I was hoping someone could guide me to the right path to learning linear algebra?

It'd be nice if I can skip passed through some stuff, but if not, I'll go ahead and learn the stuff required to deal with vectors and matrices.

Basically, what I'm asking is, is that based on what I've just told you (only knowing math up to linear equations), can you guide and lead me to learning linear algebra without any hassles on the way there? So maybe have a list of prerequisites I should probably check out and learn, and if possible, suggest me some good resources I can learn from. I keep googling and the answers bounce back and forth, either you need to know calculus, functions, etc, or you don't. I'd like this to be cleared up, thanks.

EDIT: Sorry for the duplication, but now I don't know how to navigate/learn from the MITOpenCourseWare of 18.06 Gilbert Strang's Linear Algebra course. I looked at Gilbert Strang, Linear Algebra, the course 18.06 at MIT, and it may just be me being stupid, but how do I know when to start reading the book, etc, from the lectures? I mean, I already watched the first lecture, and obviously, there's a book he has that you have to read, but I don't know when to read it. I see the Readings and Calender, but they don't really make any sense.

Thanks.

user83903
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Well! Khanacademy is a good start but it will quickly bore you I suppose...

Local university is ure best bet...

Online course via Stanford online or some other format is also smart (educere is the cheapest)

Or you just get your own books online and grind it out yourself.

You only need algebra I to do linear algebra but it requires a lot of creativity and determination as you will likely find a lot of annoying notation and jargon thrown at you... Be patient!

Also I recommend studying the AoPS book collection as a good break from the usual collegiate grind

Sidharth Ghoshal
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  • And get to know wikipedia! – Sidharth Ghoshal Jun 26 '13 at 05:13
  • Thanks, also, I looked at Gilbert Strang, Linear Algebra, the course 18.06 at MIT, and it may just be me being stupid, but how do I know when to start reading the book, etc, from the lectures? I mean, I already watched the first lecture, and obviously, there's a book he has that you have to read, but I don't know when to read it. I see the Readings and Calender, but they don't really make any sense. – user83903 Jun 26 '13 at 14:38
  • i would recommend diving into the book and whenever you see something that doesn't make sense. Look it up online, and if that doesn't work (or is impractical for whatever reason). Then take a picture of it, and find a good internet forum to post and ask "what does this mean"... Thats probably all you need to do. Once the notation is in the rest is easy... just logic – Sidharth Ghoshal Jun 26 '13 at 15:14
  • So, just read the book "Introduction to Linear Algebra 4th Edition by Gilbert Strang" and grind through it? Don't even watch the lectures? – user83903 Jun 26 '13 at 15:21
  • watch the lectures if you think it will help. I have found that overall using the internet is much faster than hearing someone talk but the ability to sit in the hall itself and ask questions trumps even the internet – Sidharth Ghoshal Jun 26 '13 at 16:03
  • I see, did you learn Linear Algebra on your own? If so, do you remember what you used, etc? – user83903 Jun 26 '13 at 16:56
  • I did take a formal course after self learning but I originally just used Paul's Notes on Linear Algebra + Khan Academy + Make up interesting problems involving matrices and try to solve them – Sidharth Ghoshal Jun 26 '13 at 17:13
  • The formal course used the book elementary linear alegbra by Spence, Insel and Friedberg – Sidharth Ghoshal Jun 26 '13 at 17:23