This book is required for coursework I'm doing. My perspective comes from:

1. being a rank beginner with search engine design

2. being a front-end person

3. needing my hand held during maths problem-solving exercises.

The formulae and variables change midstream... without commentary. Seemingly associated tables do not match up mathematically (again, without explaination). Both examples serve to confound and frustrate the beginner trying to learn the methodology. 

This leads me to think that this book is not, in fact, for beginners at all. You should probably know a bit about the subject to begin with. For all I know, some of those random variable shifts are parts of an in joke to which I'm not privy. 

I do giggle over it, but more out of madness than actual humour.