It’s also a day without using anything he learned in art, or geography, or chemistry, or English literature, or history, or pretty much anything he studied in school after age 10. Why does math get singled out?
Because math is abstract and difficult to relate to. We should be taught practical applications of the abstract concepts, and the exam questions should be more practical.
yeah i think most of us were taught by people who didn’t “understand” math either, so we don’t really get what it is that we’re doing, we just memorize the process to get the numbers to match, which isnt fun at all. I had a very difficult time in school with math.
When i was reintroduced to math functions as an electrician (and an adult) and the numbersoup actually described tactile, real world connections i had a much more fun time learning them.
The biggest thing I learned from math was training yourself to think and problem solve. To always want to learn the next level of whatever you were learning, whether it’s math English or whatever.
I don’t think I’ve ever used much math knowledge in my life … but it gave me the ability and enthusiasm of wanting to always want to solve a problem no matter how complex it was.
The reason why they’re abstract and difficult to relate to is because we’re all being taught maths backwards.
In science, a phenomenon is observed and then maths is used to create a set of equations describe it’s behaviour. Then using the equations, other experiments can be designed to prove other hypothesises. This is known as the experimentalist approach to science.
Engineering is the same but less research and more application focused. For example, I need to design a wooden shelf that is A inches/meters long and supports B lb/kg of weight. How do I do that? Using trigonometry and Newtonian physics to work out the dimensions.
Finance is often used for basic algebra and calculus.
However, it is not always helpful to work in the material when using mathematics and the abstract is preferred. This is usually only useful for the theoretical approach in science, in theoretical mathematics, or at the cutting edge of engineering disciplines.
If we were taught by being presented with a problem first, I think it would make it easier to make the leap into the abstract when required for other applications. And on top of this, it would make it much easier for the majority who only ever need to use mathematics as a tool.
I would have certainly loved it if they showed me the actual problem and then solve it with math, instead of showing how to solve abstract, non-real-world problems in math using a bunch of complicated theorems that you just have to memorize (I know they can be solved, but you still have to memorize them for when you need to use them).
“If Johnny has 3 apples, and Jane takes 1 apple, how many apples does Johnny have?”
I use basic math daily. I use algebra frequently.
I have not use trigonometry since I passed high school trigonometry.
Most people in modern society don’t use it.
I like to view things with quantum physics in mind. “That’s weird and counter-intuitive…”, “I guess it’s meant to be that way.”
Obviously it doesn’t apply to everything, and often your gut feeling is probably right. But the philosophy helps in keeping an open mind.
With trigonometry, you don’t use it directly, but AC electricity and radio waves (eg WiFi or your phone) extensively rely on it.
have you ever played a video game where you’re throwing a grenade and the UI shows you where the grenade will land?
Just trying to think of the most basic uses of trig that would occur.
Another day of not needing to know that Constantinople was the capitol of the Byzantine Empire.
Of course these days they go by a different name. Not sure why tho
Been a long time gone, Constaninople. But why did Constantinople get the works!?