Why not math?

[Icarus]

I hope this can be an intelligent discussion on the failings of math. Why do some people not like? I would be grateful if the posts were not merely "It sucks." Thank you for your consideration.

[mitsuki lover]

Well for myself it is simply that I do not have the head for mathematics in general.
Which is odd considering how music and math are sometimes associated and I
do rather well musically in that I play the piano.Perhaps it is that math is too concrete.

[Cap'n Nick]

Math tells us how to do things, but it doesn't tell us why.

[Debitt]

Math tells us how to do things, but it doesn't tell us why.

That's my number one problem with math. Being more on the English side of the subject spectrum, I always find myself sitting in class thinking "but WHY does that work!?" or "WHY do we do it THAT way?" and getting frustrated when I can't come up with an answer. ^^;

[SnoringFrog]

I've wondered that a few times as well. I especially wonder how the people who found these formulas found out about them in the first place.

Anyhow, the only reason I've got for not likeing it is because some of it just takes to long for my tastes. However, if I don't have to do the math (figuring something just for fun, or working ahead in class) I don't have much of a problem with it. I am currently 2 weeks ahead of my class in math, but right now we don't have much that's even difficult.

[Scribs]

Math involves alot of work without much of an obvious reason. I am good at it, but avoid it because I simply do not get why I would want to do any.

[Anna Mae]

Math involves alot of work without much of an obvious reason. I am good at it, but avoid it because I simply do not get why I would want to do any.

I have had similiar sentiments. It is not really very difficult for me, but I already have what I'll need for my career, and I don't really enjoy math anyway.

[termyt]

Well, it can tell you why, but then you are getting really complicated. You'll know what I mean if you take such wonderful courses Analytical Geometry and Differential Equations in college.

Suffice to say, it’s a lot easier to teach and understand how to do it then to teach and understand why it’s done that way.

But I digress. The reason why math fails is because it’s hard. There are no short cuts. The only way to learn it is through practice and repetition – it’s not much different then English in that respect.

[Kisa]

I just can't ever seem to get it. I also have a little thing where I see numbers backwards too, lol

[Taka]

I think it has to do with the left brain-right brain thing. Generaly, people are either more inclined towards math at one end of the spectrum, or english at the other. Not to say there aren't people gifted at both. But more often than not, that is how I've seen it.

If I understand WHY I'm doing something, I get it very well. Otherwise, I don't begin to understand how to do it at all. That is my love/hate relationship with math.

[uc pseudonym]

Ironically, math is almost all about short cuts: finding easier and more effective ways to perform certain functions. Somehow this process becomes complex and can be rather demanding.

[Taka]

true. i think some people just like the complexity.

[Cap'n Nick]

When I said "why," I didn't mean why it works. I meant "why" in a more teleological sense. For example, with math and physics you could figure out how to build a bridge that wouldn't fall over, but math couldn't tell you why you should be building this bridge in the first place as opposed to a bridge to some other place or to just scrap bridges entirely and spend the afternoon playing Parcheesi. Math is useful, but it does not provide purpose, at least in the ultimate sense.

[termyt]

Yes, I see now. Math is an means to an end, not an end to a means.

[~Natsumi Lam~]

well i like math.... all but geometry..... I LOVE PROOFS... dont like the shapes.... and degree positions stuff.


i love all calculus 1,2 3... makes perfect sense to me.... UNLIKE SPELLING!!!


~NL~

[TurkishMonky]

When I said "why," I didn't mean why it works. I meant "why" in a more teleological sense. For example, with math and physics you could figure out how to build a bridge that wouldn't fall over, but math couldn't tell you why you should be building this bridge in the first place as opposed to a bridge to some other place or to just scrap bridges entirely and spend the afternoon playing Parcheesi. Math is useful, but it does not provide purpose, at least in the ultimate sense.

well, actually, with enough data, math could be used to determine bottlenecks in traffic flow, nd probably help determine where to place the bridge for maximum effectivness. mathe would also be heavily related to road-building budget as well, which would be another determing factor on weather or not to build it at all.

Howeve, you're right that math does not provide puropse, as living for God is ultimately the only puropse in life.

[Anna Mae]

I LOVE PROOFS

I detested those. "Because the teacher said it was that way" was good enough reason for math to me. What was worse was trying to prove that a+b=b+a. The painfully obvious things were the worst...

[mitsuki lover]

I took a personality quiz that showed you wheter your were a right or left brained person and I came out as being left brained.

[blkmage]

The only thing I don't like about math (in school) is that if you make one small error at the beginning of a problem, you're done. Half your test is down the drain.

[Dante]

When I said "why," I didn't mean why it works. I meant "why" in a more teleological sense. For example, with math and physics you could figure out how to build a bridge that wouldn't fall over, but math couldn't tell you why you should be building this bridge in the first place as opposed to a bridge to some other place or to just scrap bridges entirely and spend the afternoon playing Parcheesi. Math is useful, but it does not provide purpose, at least in the ultimate sense.

Yes you are correct, math can't tell you why to build the bridge, you have to want to to begin with, but this is true for everything. Little children employ this philosophy wonderfully by asking why after everything, in fact they continue this indefinitely about everything proving how little of fundemental knowledge we truly know!

Still I could never figure out why people could so deeply despise mathematics with all of its logic and forgive the english langauge (Which doesn't even follow it's own rules!). At least mathematics always follows its own rules and any rules, in fact if it didn't it wouldn't work. However, I now give you something truly evil to think about. Consider a concept that embodies all possible thoughts abstract and concrete, we shall define this as "the all". Now think of words as an abstract "function". If we dot product any words with the all we shall elliminate all possibilities except that of the word involved. With multiple dot products comes further refinement. A sentence just consists of a set of dot producted words to functions to set up a situation or concept. Because dot products commute we gain the famous concept that in various languages accross the Earth you can switch the order of the verb the object and the subject! See even language is mathematical, ha ha ha, this shall indeed give you all nightmeres as you dream of your english teacher bringing in a math test to prove the equations of Mark Twain!

Later,
Pascal

[Bunny]

For me, math is just beyond my ability to imagine all the way through. There's something so frustrating about not being able see every part of something in my head. Part of my displeasure in doing math also stems from my past experience with math teachers who like to get picky about me taking every available shortcut and not necessarily doing something the way I was instructed. What can I say? To me, if it works, that's all that matters.
Sometimes it's almost soothing for me to solve more advanced problems. When everything else gets chaotic and I can't seem to make anything work, sitting down and working through equations helps me to really analyze my problems. It makes me happy.

[Nate]

Part of my displeasure in doing math also stems from my past experience with math teachers who like to get picky about me taking every available shortcut and not necessarily doing something the way I was instructed. What can I say? To me, if it works, that's all that matters.

Being on the other end of the spectrum, I wasn't going to post in here (since this thread is reserved solely for those who have a distaste for math). However, I feel I must comment on this.

The reason isn't that they're picky. The reason is that unless you do it the way of a proven method, you're doing it incorrectly. You may say, "But it gives me the right answer." Yes, that may be true...sometimes. But such is not always the case.

Proof of this was in my physics class. One of the students found a way she thought was easier to get the answer. And using this method (rather than what the instructor said), she managed to get every single question right on the first and second homework assignments.

On the third, however, her method fell apart, and she got almost every single question wrong.

The teachers are not trying to be mean or picky, Bunny. The reason is that it's possible to get the correct answer through methods that are completely incorrect...and thus, you haven't learn the subject and will be setting yourself up for failure in the future.

Not to bring this thread off topic, but "To me, if it works, that's all that matters" is a dangerous phrase, since I've heard many non-Christians use that to justify why they reject the Gospel, claiming that other religions work better for them, and that's all that matters.

[mitsuki lover]

I perfer biology to math.At least when you get bored in biology there were always the pictures of the dinosaurs to look at!

[Heart of Sword]

I'm actually good at it, but I HATE it because it takes up time that I'd rather spend doing other, much more fun things.

[Fade]

Personally I like using math as a tool for solving larger problems. Doing busywork that accomplishes no real-world goal is incredibly boring to me.

[uc pseudonym]

The only thing I don't like about math (in school) is that if you make one small error at the beginning of a problem, you're done. Half your test is down the drain.

This is one of the reasons I will likely not pursue math beyond some stages of calculus. In my highest-level classes to date, I had no difficulty understanding or implementing any of the concepts, I merely found that the grading system did not reflect this understanding. That aside, I essentially enjoy mathematics.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I hated maths all through school. I found it terribly difficult, frustrating and stressful. Even the simplest of long division etc got me muddled. Somehow I always made it more difficult than it was and could never get my head quite around it. Too complex and too many numbers, none of it made sense. Maths was Hell on earth. Probably got something to do with me being a dyslexic.

[mitsuki lover]

My math teacher throughout Junior High was named Mrs.Dillow.You can figure out what we called her.(Starts with a arma..)

[Bunny]

Being on the other end of the spectrum, I wasn't going to post in here (since this thread is reserved solely for those who have a distaste for math). However, I feel I must comment on this.

The reason isn't that they're picky. The reason is that unless you do it the way of a proven method, you're doing it incorrectly. You may say, "But it gives me the right answer." Yes, that may be true...sometimes. But such is not always the case.

Proof of this was in my physics class. One of the students found a way she thought was easier to get the answer. And using this method (rather than what the instructor said), she managed to get every single question right on the first and second homework assignments.

On the third, however, her method fell apart, and she got almost every single question wrong.

The teachers are not trying to be mean or picky, Bunny. The reason is that it's possible to get the correct answer through methods that are completely incorrect...and thus, you haven't learn the subject and will be setting yourself up for failure in the future.

Not to bring this thread off topic, but "To me, if it works, that's all that matters" is a dangerous phrase, since I've heard many non-Christians use that to justify why they reject the Gospel, claiming that other religions work better for them, and that's all that matters.

^^ Oh, I know that. I'm usually pretty careful about not just creating a shortcut off the top of my head to give myself an accurate answer. However, sometimes there is more than one correct method to solve a problem. Quadratic equations can be solved in a number of ways, for example. It just seems that I lean toward the methods that aren't too popular. I had a teacher last year who expected me to do everything using a calculator and I have the tendency to use them only as a last resort. We didn't click too well.

As far as faith goes, I would never go the way of relativism.

[Jeikobu]

Math is not my strong point, besides I think it's remarkably boring and long, and it's a great source of headaches and frustration. Of what comes to mind, I'd take any other subject over it.