hi all.
after two years of math undergrad, I have decided to pursue medicine after an experience with healthcare that really sparked something in me. that being said, I do plan on coming back to mathematics after med school but in the meantime I'd like to still study some on the side, just as a hobby :p my interests mainly lie in algebra but I like some analysis and discrete mathematics too. that being said, I don't think I was the brightest student in my cohort, or at least not so on taking exams as I struggle greatly with pacing and knowing when to move on from some nitty gritty thing that really shouldn't alter my understanding of something but it does. some of the time it is because of a gap in my knowledge, other times it's just my personality I assume. combine that with often starting to study a bit too late and you start to get the picture. oh well there's ADHD too that comes to play but that in my experience is heavily influenced by how well I'm generally prepared and since I've been diagnosed for basically my whole life, so it is not something that is unique to school.
that all being said, I'd like some advice and experiences from peeps who have at least some formal mathematical education (post-high school) and have gone down this route. my biggest questions are:
1) how do you know when you've functionally understood something rather than conceptually understanding something? that is to mean, when you are able to do exercises correctly or are able to give counter examples (something I find extremely hard to do) rather than just knowing what a theorem entails.
2) other than textbooks, what are some other sources you use(d)? I know for example that Sheldon Axler has video's on his own textbook and that MIT has some courses but most of these are very first year of undergrad oriented, what for beyond that?
3) did you have any other obligations during your study period and if so, how did you keep it balanced? since I'll be a med student, you can imagine that there will have to be some planning involved (especially since I still have other interests that I love)
4) favorite textbooks you've studied so far and what made it so great to you?
I think that's about all for now.
thanks for taking the time to read and have a nice day.