Currently I am struggling with Discrete Maths (logic, set theories and the like), with my trusty textbook - Discrete Mathematics with Applications, by Susanna S. Epp (I fondly refer to it as Ms. Susanna…whenever someone asks me a question on Discrete Maths, I would say, “Let me counsel Susanna first…”)
I am thinking of getting a second text of complementing the one that I have now. Are there any good books I shall take a look at?
I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. Not because I don’t want to… uhhhh… actually it is because I don’t want to!
I didn’t understand a word of that course all through my 2nd year in university and I was good at math. I stayed up all night with my classmates to study for the exam the following morning. Passed by some miracle or clerical error and vowed to forget the entire experience over a burning copy of the course text book.
Thank you for bringing up that painful memory.
I actually liked discrete math Back In The Day. Can I remember ANY of it? Heck, no, but I have this on the day I need to shake the cobwebs from my brain:
http://tinyurl.com/9mxlm
Schaum’s makes great outlines. Now mind you, they are pretty basic so if you’re a CS major or math undergrad having to do a course on Discrete Math (sorry for the American lack of plural), this is a great book. If you have to pump out some complicated proofs, this book is going to be way too simple.
You might look around the online store of Dover Publications to see if you can find something cheap that looks promising.
The problem with recommending a general discrete math textbook is that the field is broad enough that no two authors are going to cover exactly the same topics–you’ll get a little bit of logic, a little bit of set theory, and probably some combinatorics, but after that it’s a crapshoot. And if you’re looking for anything in-depth, you’d be better of consulting a textbook in that field.
Is there a particular topic that you’re having trouble with? That might help to make some more specific recommendations.
I used the 2nd edition of Rosen’s Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications as an undergrad. Being a poor student at the time (and not knowing I’d end up in grad school), I sold it right after the semester ended. I picked up a 4th edition from one of the undergrads (at a different institution) a year or so ago to replace it.
It does the job – I’ve often used it as a reference – although I have no idea how it compares with other texts.
I used exactly the same textbook as you do. Apparently, I never found it useful since I alredy knew the stuff before.
However, I looked at some other Discrete Math textbooks as well, and they are pretty much the same. Why dont you go in the library and see if there is a book you can use ?