An Excellent Introduction to Applied Mathematics

I have always loved Mathematics as I am a Computer Science student. However, my interests have hitherto been on the pure side. This course was my introduction to Applied Mathematics, particularly in the social sciences. (Of course, I have been exposed to Applied Mathematics before, but it was always in the context of Physics or Engineering.)

I heard about this course because I was reading Scott Page's book - Model Thinking. I thought I'd take the online course parallelly as I read the book. It is an excellent course.

The modules are small and digestible chunks and practical examples are given about each of the models. The course is all about the virtues of thinking of situations in multiple models and recognizing that almost all models are wrong, because by definition, a model must make simplifications from the real world. However, that doesn't mean that the model cannot explain a substantial part of the real world of provide genuine insight !

The tests are great. This was my first CourseEra course. Since each test can be taken multiple times, there is no pressure or stress before the test. I started thinking of the test as another educational experience. The tests really reinforce the material.

I really recommend the course, particularly if you love Mathematics and have not been exposed to how it is used in fields like Economics, Politics and Social Sciences.

The only complain I have is that there is no project or paper required to be written. This is the reason I still do not feel like I have truly mastered the material in depth. I will now try to do something deeper with the material I learnt in this course.

I learned much more than anticipated. In fact I've already started exploring areas of my work that model thinking would apply and how to use the tools presented in this class. Highly recommend!

Course is touch with understandable nice language. Also there are many real life situation to support what being taught. Definitely suggested for those who want to look at world differently

Perfect syllabus and topic arrangement, clear lecturing, except few Chinese

it is great and thanks for instructor teaching this course. I have learned much

Great Course!

I first took this course in 2012, very first time it appear on Coursera, and it was mind blowing. It really made me a better thinker, open my eyes on some issues and let me look on those issues from a model point of view. Fun thing happen in 2012 - I was graduating from university in my hometown, and a question on my final goverment exam (I don't know if there such thing in other countries) was about Innovation and Solow growth model. And coincidentially I learn about this model from Professor's Page course, just before my exam. I really liked the simple way he explained it. So I was able to show the Final Exam Commission that I not just learn the material, but understant it and can argue about it. They really liked my answer and arguments and gave me a highest grade.

I re-took this course in 2013 and now in 2017. The concepts about diversity and how it help produce a better result, cooperation games etc. is getting more and more useful nowadays (I think). If only more people could understand it, we'd be able not only be a better citizens of the world, but make the world a better place.

Scott E. Page is a great teacher, would be glad to meet him in person.

Big Thanks to Professor Page, University of Michigan and Coursera for providing this great Course. Recommend it to everyone!

I loved this course.

I followed this course to prepare myself for teaching a similar course at the HZ University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.

This MOOC suits me perfectly to flip the classroom. Students study the videos offered by professor Page before they come to class. In class, I organize workshops that take about three hours during which the models are discussed and applied in groups of up to four students. Having a big classroom available with whiteboards all around the walls is a big plus. Standing really makes people's mind moving.

At the end of each workshop, students have to do an assignment that closely relates to the topics that arose during the workshop. Together, all these assignments make up the portfolio wherein students keep track of their learning process and reflect on their learning experience.

I wish everybody a happy thoughtful day,

Frank Peeters

Senior Lecturer at the HZ University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands

frank.peeters@hz.nl

This is an outstanding course on the many model approach to problem solving. I got way more than I expected from the course - I did not expect to see coverage of agent based modeling, linear models, tipping points, and game theory in one course. I also got less than I wanted as we went along. Each class was a short trailer on the models and many a times I wanted to know more. I at least know what to explore, which is not a bad outcome for a course you can complete quite quickly. Professor Page's enthusiasm for the models and the need to cycle information through multiple models is infectious, informative and ultimately very inspiring.

I was greatly benefited from this course.

It helped me with enhancing my understanding of the world and how people make decisions and how I would make decisions etc. I really recommend this course for everyone to become a smarter person.

The only setback for this course is that their exams (especially the midterm and final exams) are very difficult and take around an hour to solve.

However, keep it up and I encourage you to update the videos because the course has become outdated. I really encourage you of doing so. But I understand how busy you may be.

Thanks again for such a great experience.

Taking this course has really broadened my mind to see how models help to explain situations in the real world, but I don't expect to be able to remember ALL of the models as there are simply too many to choose from! I really enjoyed how the professor eases into each week, gives examples, adds in-video questions to test if you're still awake, and finally ties the lecture off with a "Thank You" ... it really puts a nice touch into an otherwise long and potentially dry course. I'd have liked to see some in-lecture polls, and peer assignments after each mid-term.

The course touches on a wide variety of topics, while keeping a clear focus. The presentations are fun to watch and Prof. Scott presents with enthusiasm and presents interesting examples where the models apply in day to day life. The syllabus adds some interesting leads for those who want to dig a bit deeper in that matter. I'm happy to have learnt some new models, deeper understood some models I used to know and eager to see how to apply this in the future. Mental note: Be open to switch chairs, but be careful to switch rooms ;-)

This excellent course provides a broad overview of the main models for decision support. Arguments are too vast to be treated in a single course, each of them would deserve at least one special course. But what is important is the knowledge of these opportunities. The course provides the basic tools in several areas, leaving the opportunity to deepen to the interest of each participant. A special praise to the teacher, proficient in triggering the audience's interest and attention, with a good dose of sympathy and irony.

Barely in and it's one of the very best most fun courses I've taken. Scott is hugely enthusiastic and articulate in just the right ways. I hope I'm learning as much as I'm having fun letting model patterns float through my brain. I guess that is learning, sorta. I'm excited to complete the course and build on it. A very good sign. Thank you all so much for putting these courses out there. It's fucking fantastic. Okay, it doesn't really get more emphatic than that from me. Thank you again. Tom Bauer.

This is a great course! The content ranges widely over models from game theory and equilibrium to evolution, prediction, networks, and more. Anyone who wishes to better understand the world will benefit from the lecture videos and readings. Scott Page is a first-rate expositor, offering helpful examples and analogies to elucidate ideas and relationships. Best along side Page's book *Model Thinking,* the course brings to life many of the ideas surveyed in the text.

Very useful and engaging course in general! There were a lot of interesting parts in it. Especially, because it showed that the "many model thinking" is a useful "tool" in various fields of life. There were some trivial parts/ lectures, but it was still useful to go back to some basics for deeper understanding. Scott Page was also a great lecturer and I liked the whole structure of the course. Thanks for the great course, keep up the good work!

An enlightening course. Opens my mind to a wide vista of new ways of thinking and living. Practical with seemingly endless tools for the mind. Prof. Page provides a wide variety of examples that are relatable.

The best thing for me is how Prof. Page feels relatable and approachable in his teaching style - he seems to really want students to understand what he's teaching and meeting us where we are, providing excellent scaffolding along the way.

I have a Masters degree and until I took this MOOC I had somehow gotten used to the ridiculous notion that I had learned everything that I needed to know. I am pleasantly amazed at how much I still don't know and I am very excited to learn more. I have even started reading journal articles by Page and Zellner because I am very facinated by the models shown to me in this course.

Thank you very much for making this material available.

This class is just absolutely fantastic. I learned a ton and ended up getting a few of Scott Page's books, which go into even more detail (but still not at a level where someone like me, with a minimal math background, couldn't get it). Thank you for making this course. I'm a PhD student in Philosophy and this class (and Page's books) helped me work on an epistemology paper I would have been unable to do otherwise. Thank you!

It is hard to imagine that a huge amount of information, which Scott collected, structured and offered as a finished course. I have learned a lot new data about natural phenomena, the behavior of the group of people and individuals in different social and economic conditions. I think that course is very useful to any person who want to expand his horizons and become truly "an intelligent citizen in the world". Thanks a lot.

The message that models are a very good way of thinking about the world is not mere rhetoric. It's clearly the best option in the house. This course gives us a overview of some of the more important models that exist. It made me miss my university times, where I learnt most of them in other contexts. It was amazing to study these models again in such a broader view of their application.

Enjoy.

This course blew my mind week after week. Professor Page's excitement for the topic combined with an amazing ability to communicate clearly and concisely made this an awesome 12 week journey. The double edge of the course is that after 11 weeks my brain is carrying so many new models, it can be hard to keep them straight ... that's what practice and refreshing is for. Awesome class!

Models are the stuff of knowledge: we propose simplified versions of how the world works and consider how well they match reality. Scott answers the philosophical question "What are models for?" and gives an introduction to several engaging models. Anyone who wants to become a lifelong learner will do well to develop the skill of designing, refining, and applying their own models.

A great intro to mental models - interesting, provocative and thought-inducing. Scott lays off the foundation by breaking complex processes into simple equations and deriving the formulas (the formulas that really work!). This course will definitely help one start looking at our world in models - getting a clearer understanding of what's happening around us.

Thanks, Mr. Page! <3

An eye opening walk through different models that govern our lives, both personal, political, social, economic and... [insert any industry, academic discipline]. It'll help you become a more rational person, pay attention to fallacies and patterns that appear around us. Might also turn you into a selfish bot evaluating everything rationally, unless that's just me ;-)

This was a very well structured course. Prof. Scott has delivered wach lecture with great clarity. As introduction course, it had a very good range of topics and models to learn from. The content is intuitive enough to apreciate the "fertility" of these models and apply them in various contexts.

Many thanks,

Looking forward to more such courses on modeling,

Udaya Ranga