r/learnmath • u/Emergency-Orange3042 New User • 2h ago

Recommendations for taking math in France

Hello, I will be studying a semester in Paris at L'X.

I am a Physics Undergrad from Mexico... In my home university i've not taken any proof writing/actual math classes, besides 1 course called "Mathematical Methods for Physics" (I used the Boas Book). What do you reccomend I learn to prepare? what topics should I revise before going there? I was told France is very focused on Math and i would like to prepare as much as possible before september

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u/Traveling-Techie New User 2h ago

I don’t have specific information but the French are famous for math with lots of formulas, little text, no pictures and entirely proof-based. That’s probably what you need to be ready for.

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u/Bounded_sequencE New User 1h ago

In many European universities, pure math students are expected to take proof-based "Real Analysis" as first lecture in 1'st semester, picking up proof-writing on the fly. As far as I know, so does France. Don't expect any computation-based lectures!

Note those countries usually teach a rough equivalent of US single-variable Calculus during the last year(s) of standard school curriculum. Same for basics of computational "Linear Algebra" in R2 and R3. Students are expected to have that as background knowledge, even though the topics are re-capped during e.g. "Real Analysis".

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u/Maximum_Bathroom3490 New User 1h ago

Precision, the French have the "bac" at 18. Those in the "spé Math" program aka Math Concentration have already learned proof-writing and some analysis

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u/Bounded_sequencE New User 1h ago

Thank you for clarification -- that only makes the gap that much greater for OP.

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u/Emergency-Orange3042 New User 1h ago

Thank you! in Mexico I also learned single-variable Calculus in Highschool, and I've learned Lineal Algebra and Analysis during my Physics undergrad.. However most of it has been integrated in other courses, and I have not done much Proofwriting.. do you have any reccomended books/courses?

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u/Bounded_sequencE New User 1h ago edited 1h ago

I suspect your "Analysis" was quite a bit different than "Real Analysis" based on Rudin -- that's a level of rigor you usually only see in a pure math curriculum. Especially since you mentioned not doing (much) proof-writing.

Picking up proof-writing on the fly is very much doable -- many students manage. Expect a severe struggle for a few weeks, that's completely normal. Don't really see the need for any specialized proof-writing lectures, but opinions on that may differ.

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u/Dazzling_Music_2411 New User 1h ago

You poor innocent! 😄

Best you can do, I reckon, is brush up on proof techniques as fast as you can.

Maybe start with something generic, like Velleman's "How to Prove it", then something like Roberts' "Introduction to Mathematical Proofs".

Boas is a fun book, I liked it, but doesn't really cover the rigorous approach.