Question: Besides generally learning Algebraic Topology, what are some prerequisites for studying Computational Topology? Are there any accessible papers which introduce the field and the methods being used?
Motivation: A number of my peers do applied mathematics where I go to school, and upon hearing how they solved problems for their applied math classes I often think that the same sort of techniques could be used in topology. I am often referred to Stanford's computation topology page, though a number of the preprints on this page are not quite accessible to me. Of course, accessibility is subjective, but I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions regarding how to proceed. It would be a shame to give up on this interesting looking subject just because I can't get my foot in the door!