Understanding and Doing Math - Circle 1

This is the first in a series of math books intended for those who have completed at least secondary school mathematics and have acquired:

We will start our journey with numbers. Numbers are the oldest mathematical idea, but still also the most important one. Not only will we go through the basics of numbers in a way that will give you the confidence to really understand numbers and really know how to apply them, but you will also learn all the essential elements of mathematics through the example of the world of numbers. The example of numbers will be used to illustrate what mathematical objects are and how they are applied, and what mathematical tools we use in their description and application. Humanity needed millennia to develop the world of numbers and methods for their description and application. While growing up you are expected to pass through this history briefly in a dozen years of education. On the basis of the experience of the whole of human civilisation and your education, we are now in the position to acquire, in several weeks, knowledge about numbers at a more mature level.