Matematica: Algebra lineare

マンガでわかる [Manga de Wakaru]

by Shin Takahashi

Dalla vita Reiji desidera due cose: una cintura nera di karate e Misa, la ragazza dei suoi sogni. Per fortuna, il fratello maggiore di Misa è il capitano della squadra di karate dell’Università ed è disposto a stringere un patto: Reiji potrà entrare nella squadra se darà lezioni di Algebra Lineare a Misa. Reiji cerca di esporre a Misa le basi di questo argomento delicato e sfuggente, descrivendole operazioni da capogiro come le trasformazioni lineari, il calcolo dei determinanti e la determinazione di autovalori e autovettori. Con l’aiuto di esempi davvero incredibili, come il minigolf e gli incontri di karate, Reiji trasforma concetti astratti in fatti concreti, comprensibili e persino divertenti. Insieme a Misa, nel suo corso accelerato di Algebra Lineare capirete e applicherete nozioni come operazioni di base tra vettori e matrici, come addizione e moltiplicazione, dipendenza e indipendenza lineare, basi di spazi vettoriali, eliminazione di Gauss per il calcolo della matrice inversa, sottospazio, dimensione e “span” lineare, applicazioni pratiche dell’algebra Lineare in campi come la grafica computerizzata e la crittografia.

Genres: Mathematics, Manga, Science, Nonfiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Textbooks

242 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

高橋信

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows why karate and linear algebra could be important in your life.

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good beginner's manga guide to linear algebra with a sweet love story.

[Adeel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completed the book couldn't grasp some basic concepts because I am mathematically unfit. Book was good though has reignited my interest in maths.

[J. Nic Fisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly a really good guide. I tend to only keep 1 reference per subject and this is it for Linear algebra. Won't replace a class or anything, but enough to piece together the subject when you need it.

[Timothy Deng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming plot, if a little obvious! Great explanation on the differences between bases and linear independence. One of the most valuable things I learned in here was finding the inverse of a matrix without using the terrible cofactor method they teach in school. The explanations on linear transformations and eigenvalues/eigenvectors helped me understand their meaning better conceptually, though I do wish there was more time spent on those two topics in particular.

[Beth G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute manga! This would be a nice supplement to any traditional linear algebra textbook. Most of the math is presented in manga format as we follow one character tutoring another, though some pages at the ends of chapters show solved problems to illustrate concepts.

As for the storyline - well, this book was written by and for math nerds, so you can wager your own guess as to whether our geeky protagonist wins the heart of the girl he likes. 🤓

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read this book and finding it greatly enjoyable as well as informative, I think that the Manga guides to other subjects are likely to be of interest to me as well.  By putting a layer between the admittedly somewhat dry and dull material of linear algebra and the reader, the book allows the reader to put themselves in the shoes of Misa, an appealing young woman who struggles with the subject and wants to know how practical it is and how to understand the material for her college math class.  And looking at this book as an entrance into the series as a whole, it is worthwhile to add one layer between the reader and the raw material of mathematics (or science), given that the interest in the plot itself allows the material to be more interesting because of the context that it is in.  It is only a wonder that this sort of approach has not been taken before because of its obvious appeal for those who are interested in both manga as well as math and science and who seek to leverage narrative and story to make mathematics and science easier to appreciate

At its core, this is a book that deals with three people with complex motivations.  We have Reiji, a freshman at a university who is a bit of a weakling but devoted to getting stronger through the mastery of karate.  We have Tetsuo, who is powerful at karate but (spoiler alert) not too bright when it comes to math, and we have Tetsuo's younger sister Misa, a beautiful freshman girl who Reiji tutors in mathematics thanks to a deal he makes with Tetsuo.  The frame story of their interactions, and the growing attraction that Reiji and Misa feel for each other, as well as Reiji's attempts to prove himself to be strong takes place in the midst of instruction about linear algebra, where Reiji gives Misa (and the reader) various instruction on linear algebra in eight chapters, starting with an overview of linear algebra (1), moving on to the fundamentals of implication, equivalence, set theory, functions, combinations, and permutations (2), an introduction to matrices, matrix calculations, and special matrices (3), more matrices, including determinants and Cramer's rule (4), vectors and vector calculations (5), linear independence, bases, dimensions, and coordinates (6), linear transformations and matrix rank (7), and eigenvalues and eigenvectors (8).  The instruction fits snugly with the story of karate and romance that surrounds it and makes for a compelling vehicle for mathematics instruction and its practicality.

What does one get out of this particular book?  It is a compelling mixture of technical material, which is deadly dull when one looks at it on its own, with a fascinating story and beautiful artwork.  And that combination is one that would likely translate to a lot of other materials as well.  This book, and the series it belongs to, is evidence of at least a few things, namely the importance of learning math and science and the difficulty many people in learning the material and sustaining interest in it unless it is packaged in the right way.  Some people might be offended by this sort of thing, but as someone who finds it more worthwhile to learn and to encourage learning than to complain about the sort of form that the learning is bundled with, I don't see any reason to complain personally, except to wish that these had been around earlier.  Still, the story itself demonstrates the relationship between math knowledge and other skills, and demonstrates how it is that nerdy people can leverage their willingness to work hard at difficult subjects beyond math and science alone, which is useful information even for those who know the material already.

[Axel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was actually a great complement to my studies of linear algebra at university. I first came across it when I was in high-school, but linear algebra was overkill for what I studied at the time so I didn't put too much focus into it. But then I had a course in linear algebra at university, and thought back of this book. And it certainly helped me understand some of the concepts much better,

In my opinion the book can't single-handily help you understand everything about linear algebra. It works great as a complement though, especially if you find other literature on the subject boring or tedious.

[Venkatesh-Prasad · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible introduction to basics of linear algebra provided you are comfortable with basic algebra and matrix. The number of examples and visual illustration is the biggest pluses of the book. At times, I wished the author would elaborate the statements, e.g., minimality of basis.

The "comic book" aspect did not make a huge difference for me; may be, it would for high schoolers or eager middle schoolers.

All said, it provides an easy and quick refresher on linear algebra. It would make a great gift for high schoolers or eager middle schoolers :)

[Dorum · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concepts are explained in a relatively simple manner, most of them at least but:

1) The background story sucks. It is bland and has nothing to do with linear algebra.
2) The explanations are no different from any decent manual of basic linear algebra.
3) The authors takes what I would call a "cop-out". Whenever some more difficult concepts have to be explained, he skips the manga and simply makes long pages of text.

This three points really ruined it for me. I think Linear Algebra Done Right is a much better introduction to the subject.

[Uncertainty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book as introductory material to Linear Algebra, the book caught my attention from the very first pages I have skimmed through, entertaining, and it was an easy read.
I have incorporated using some LLMs and KhanAcademy to get more help and get answer of some questions about linear algebra.
That was my first book in this series of *Mangua Guide to*, and my next one will be *Mangua Guide to statistics*, and I won't stop there.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great refresh of linear algebra as my career has taken a turn into data science and machine learning algorithms. It was also exciting to see my local library had this and several others in the series (some of which I also took home) as they are a fun way to interact with complex mathematical concepts!

[Haydngoseek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid refresher of linear algebra fundamentals, which would make a decent introduction as well. The explanations are written/translated in a clear style, and the example problems are easy to follow. Would be nice if some of the denser textbook parts were interwoven more into the story, but there's really nothing else like it out there.

[Mahin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little semi technical book on Linear Algebra. You get to learn Linear Algebra with the cute background story of Misa and Yurino. Its not good enough as a standalone Introduction on the subject, but would be a decent supplement. I wanted to give it 3 stars, but had to give it 4 because of the cute romantic story of Misa and Yurino. :D

[Sami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linear Algebra is a difficult topic to explain, but the author did very well! Sometimes I felt it should have explained the theoretics and key vocabulary a little more but that's minor. In all, this was a great introduction into Linear Algebra and the background story plot was adorable!

Generalized content warnings: None

[Johan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the databases and universe manga guides, but this one was a tough nut to crack. I studied linear algebra little over half a life ago, but most of it didn’t ring a bell and I found it hard to understand what is was about. Weird. Will try another one.

[Sharanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good beginners guide , however would have preferred if some of the complex topics like bases , Eigen vectors were given the same set of treatment and importance as some of the other topics earlier in the book

[N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting library borrow. Thanks mate.

I needed help with algebra, but this was not quite what I needed. Still, it was an interesting basics guide with a manga framing story.

I'm going to keep an eye out for other stuff to research.

[Chris Shen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as an intro to basic procedures in linear algebra and can do good as a pre prep given that the exercises are done on paper alongside the book. I can also serve as a refresher after being familiar with some linear algebra experience.

[Chandra Prakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome, I really enjoyed reading this book. The way ideas are presented its quite good.

[Wattanit Hotrakool · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting delivery of a serious topic. The maths details are surprisingly deep — more of a university-level rather than a high-school level.

[Harinee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely Brilliant. Wish people wrote books like these to simplify subjects.

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than my coursebook

[z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute masterpiece

[Div K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly entertaining and educational

[Kushagra Tripathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice book to update basic linear algebra through comic visuals and stories

[Derek Kyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good intro to linear algebra and a creative twist to teaching it through manga.

[Maxi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it for the plot.

[Alaa Ranga · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/5 for concept
4/5 for novelty
3/5 for execution

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging but fairly shallow and scant on real world examples.