Show HN: The Little Notebook for Learning Linear Algebra with Python
Chapter 1. Vectors, scalars, and geometry 1. Scalars, Vectors, and Coordinate Systems Let’s get our hands dirty! This lab is about playing with the building blocks of linear algebra: scalars and vectors. Think of a scalar as just a plain number, like 3 or -1.5. A vector is a small list of numbers, which you can picture as an arrow in space. We’ll use Python (with NumPy) to explore them. Don’t worry if this is your first time with NumPy – we’ll go slowly. Set Up Your Lab import numpy as np That’s it – we’re ready! NumPy is the main tool we’ll use for linear algebra. Step-by-Step Code Walkthrough Scalars are just numbers. a = 5 # a scalar b = -2.5 # another scalar print(a + b) # add them print(a * b) # multiply them 2.5 -12.5 Vectors are lists of numbers. v =…
