RES.18-010 | Spring 2020 | Undergraduate

A Vision of Linear Algebra

Related Resources

Professor Strang’s foundational course 18.06 Linear Algebra has long been one of the most popular courses on OCW. It has received more than 10 million visits since its first publication in 2002. Professor Strang also has a website dedicated to his linear algebra teaching. In Spring 2023, Professor Strang taught 18.06 Linear Algebra for the final time before retiring. The final class was live streamed and recorded.

A new version of Professor Strang’s classic Linear Algebra was released in 2011 in the innovative OCW Scholar format designed for independent learners. 18.06SC Linear Algebra includes 35 lecture videos and 36 short (and highly-praised) problem-solving help videos by teaching assistants.

Professor Strang has continued to offer new insights into key mathematics subjects. In 2014, he published the new textbook Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. In 2016, that textbook was developed into a series of 55 short videos supported by MathWorks, with parallel videos about numerical solutions by Dr. Cleve Moler, the creator of MATLAB®. The textbook and video lectures help students in a basic ordinary differential equations course. This new series, Learn Differential Equations: Up Close with Gilbert Strang and Cleve Moler, is also available on the MathWorks website.

In 2017, Professor Strang launched a new undergraduate course at MIT: 18.065 Matrix Methods in Data Analysis, Signal Processing, and Machine Learning. Published on the OCW site in 2019, the course uses linear algebra concepts for understanding and creating machine learning algorithms, especially as applied to deep learning and neural networks. This course reviews linear algebra with applications to probability and statistics and optimization and, above all, a full explanation of deep learning. 

Professor Raj Rao was the inspiration for the course 18.065 Matrix Methods in Data Analysis, Signal Processing, and Machine Learning and co-taught it with Professor Strang in the first year it was offered at MIT. Since then, he has developed a very successful course on computational linear algebra.

Strang, Gilbert. Introduction to Linear Algebra. 5th ed. 2016. Wellesley-Cambridge Press. ISBN: 9780980232776.

Strang, Gilbert. Linear Algebra and Learning from Data. 2019. Wellesley-Cambridge Press. ISBN: 9780692196380.

Strang, Gilbert. Linear Algebra for Everyone. 2020. Wellesley-Cambridge Press. ISBN: 9781733146630.

Strang, Gilbert. Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. 2014. Wellesley-Cambridge Press. ISBN: 9780980232790.

Calculus Online Textbook First published in 1991 by Wellesley-Cambridge Press, this updated 3rd edition of the book is a useful resource for educators and self-learners alike. It includes the full online textbook, instructor’s manual, and study guide.

ZoomNotes for Linear Algebra (PDF) Professor Strang created these notes in 2020 and 2021 when many MIT classes were moved online (using Zoom). He hopes that faculty who are planning a linear algebra course and students who are reading for themselves will see these notes.

Linear Algebra and Deep Learning (MP4) A video of Professor Strang’s appearance as guest speaker at the weekly OLSUME (Online Seminar on Undergraduate Mathematics Education).

“Linear Algebra, Teaching, and MIT OpenCourseWare” (YouTube) on Lex Fridman Podcast.

Course Info

Departments
As Taught In
Spring 2020
Learning Resource Types
Lecture Videos
Online Textbook