Are You Good at Math?

[Forever]

I did fine.

 

[burningranger]

I used to be pretty good at it until 7th grade. Then I was isolated from the rest of my class because I was a "destabilizing member" and all my grades plummetted across the board, math included.

The same bitch teacher who did that to me...was also my math teacher at the time and I remember intutively being able to solve the problems but jumping the....whatchamacallitinenglish....the proof? I didn't seem to take the more iterative approach a lot of others did (or I think they did anyway). I ended up having loads of math subjects in college when i was in computer engineering. I did most of them pretty easily although begrungily ....because....MATH FUCKING SUCKS!!!!

I mean, if there was ANY application of maths to ANYTHING i found even remotely appealing, then I could see a point in it. But now I just leave it to my INTPs programmers and throw them a banana every once in a while.

 

[Mole]

I enjoy the philosophy of mathematics, click on http://www.manuelugarte.org/modulos/biblioteca/b/G-Spencer-Brown-Laws-of-Form.pdf

 

[Morpeko]

I think I'm pretty good at math.

 

[Kanye69]

Math is about accepting. I did not understand that as a kid. I thought it was supposed to be logical, that it would somehow make sense, hence the frustration when I always got to the conclusion that it didn't. So I was really bad at math simply because I had the wrong attitude. Instead I excelled in language-based classes and history, being the absolute worst among my peers at math. But when I got older, I realized that math is not so much about questioning, but about accepting that it is what it is. And that was when I realized the beauty of math.

NO NO NO, math is not whatsoever about "accepting." Math is 101% about questioning and learning the logic behind the theorems. As I see it (and I'd say that I know a good amount more than most people do), and as I know it, math is 200% logical (unless you start studying advanced set theory and the foundations of math — things get real weird real fast. It is still very logical then, too). Math is applied logic, rhetoric, and argumentation. Math is not just learning to memorize formulae and use them to "find x." What you study in elementary through highschool is simply the byproduct of thousands of years of proofs and logic. I'm sad to see that you changed your (proper) approach to math and adopted this new mindset (which, sadly, 99.9% of people have ;-; )
-Kanye69

 

[alexa0ne]

No, I'm really bad with X and Y.
I hate problem-solving, I almost failed it but good thing my ex-boyfriend is smart enough to solve my homework.

 

[Kanye69]

When it comes to daily math--figuring out tips, dividing a bill, tax percentages, etc.--I'm a whiz. I never struggled with math until college algebra. i is the square root of -1, which is an imaginary number, and it was the unravelling of my confidence in math. I still don't understand it. In high school, after raising my hand for the tenth time to say I didn't understand, my teacher actually said to me, "You're never going to get it, so you need to just give up." That teacher was such a great motivator.

That teacher needs to loose their job. Math is so beautiful, and people can understand it if they're shown it properly and think about it correctly. The square root of -1 is only "imaginary" in name. At the time of discovery it had a very simple purpose: find solutions to basic equations like x^2+1=0. And at the time people discovered it, it was called "imaginary" because the did not think that it existed. But then people started studying the number and found out that such "complex numbers" (numbers of the form a+bi, where a and b are real numbers, and i is the square root of negative one) lead to BEAUTIFUL and very interesting things (look up the Mandelbrot set if you want an example :3). A beautiful equation involving "imaginary numbers" is e^(i*pi)=-1. Just, wow! Now, in reality, these "imaginary numbers" aren't so imaginary. They show up almost always in physics and engineering. The engineers who use them the most are electrical engineers. Don't ever let a teacher discourage you from pursuing math!
-Kanye69

 

[Forever]

I can't relate to people who are naturally bad at math, even if they studied and took the time to do everything.

It's like a superpower.. I'm like once I understand the abstract and logic behind it.. I'm like ok... but math is a lot. so if you don't under the lot part of it, you don't get it. Simple as that.

Also some women like to play into their own stereotype because it's not "womanly" to do so. Not always the case, but I think it can be for some for sure.

 

[Cellmold]

I would be better if I practiced more, didn't keep getting kicked out of school when I was younger or sent to behavioural units & (currently) had more time to study it properly.

If I'm bad at maths, it's only my own fault and somewhat an unforgiving educational system. I think I would have done well with a personal tutor. I recently got a second hand copy of a book on basic maths to brush up on what I'd missed, I'm still struggling with long division and multiplication, but I want to gain an insight into the innate relationship between numbers and reality.

Just look at fractals.

At work I've been trying to incorporate numbers more into how I do my job, I worked out how much of a certain item (in this case bread) would fit on which section of shelf and it's allowed me to work that stock much more efficiently and quickly than a lot of the other staff I work with, who tend just to throw things out without care (which usually requires a reworking).

And then there's music. I've not got an adequate expression for that particularly beautiful relationship, but it's a very vital one to my mind.

 

[Metis]

That teacher needs to loose their job. Math is so beautiful, and people can understand it if they're shown it properly and think about it correctly. The square root of -1 is only "imaginary" in name. At the time of discovery it had a very simple purpose: find solutions to basic equations like x^2+1=0. And at the time people discovered it, it was called "imaginary" because the did not think that it existed. But then people started studying the number and found out that such "complex numbers" (numbers of the form a+bi, where a and b are real numbers, and i is the square root of negative one) lead to BEAUTIFUL and very interesting things (look up the Mandelbrot set if you want an example :3). A beautiful equation involving "imaginary numbers" is e^(i*pi)=-1. Just, wow! Now, in reality, these "imaginary numbers" aren't so imaginary. They show up almost always in physics and engineering. The engineers who use them the most are electrical engineers. Don't ever let a teacher discourage you from pursuing math!
-Kanye69

I just took a couple of math classes. One was integral calculus. It was pretty neat, and it was exciting anytime I'd figure out something about it that I'd gotten wrong or just not gotten. I had a few holes in my mathematical background that affected my understanding, though. One of them is e. I'm not clear on what logs and e are about, and I never did get around to going back to a pre-calculus text (or trig text, or wherever an explanation of logs would be found, including online sources) and getting to a clear understanding of it. I did learn some methods of integrating functions that involve e and ln, but that doesn't mean I knew what I was doing. I should have just figured everything out / looked those things up and clarified them in my mind as they came up, instead of keeping on putting them off and moving onto the next thing. I did the latter, and I feel like I have a B or C understanding of the subject, when I could have had an A+ understanding with a little more diligence.

Math can be fun, but there's a saying that the physical science professors used to say, back when I was young. "It's just mathematical masturbation at this point." I've never been particularly inspired by the idea or practice of mathematics. It has its utility, and I've always admired the perspective that says that mathematics is beautiful. I tried to relate to that perspective when I was young. For better or worse, it doesn't move me very much.

 

[Kanye69]

I just took a couple of math classes. One was integral calculus. It was pretty neat, and it was exciting anytime I'd figure out something about it that I'd gotten wrong or just not gotten. I had a few holes in my mathematical background that affected my understanding, though. One of them is e. I'm not clear on what logs and e are about, and I never did get around to going back to a pre-calculus text (or trig text, or wherever an explanation of logs would be found, including online sources) and getting to a clear understanding of it. I did learn some methods of integrating functions that involve e and ln, but that doesn't mean I knew what I was doing. I should have just figured everything out / looked those things up and clarified them in my mind as they came up, instead of keeping on putting them off and moving onto the next thing. I did the latter, and I feel like I have a B or C understanding of the subject, when I could have had an A+ understanding with a little more diligence. Math can be fun, but there's a saying that the physical science professors used to say, back when I was young. "It's just mathematical masturbation at this point." I've never been particularly inspired by the idea or practice of mathematics. It has its utility, and I've always admired the perspective that says that mathematics is beautiful. I tried to relate to that perspective when I was young. For better or worse, it doesn't move me very much.

If you have any questions about e or ln, you can pm me. In actuality, e and ln are constructions which are best explained in a calculus course — not precalculus. When explained to precalculus students, the teachers aren't even able to fully explain or define them
-Kanye69

 

[Metis]

If you have any questions about e or ln, you can pm me. In actuality, e and ln are constructions which are best explained in a calculus course — not precalculus. When explained to precalculus students, the teachers aren't even able to fully explain or define them
-Kanye69

Interesting. I never took pre-calculus, and I'd assumed they were something I'd missed from that. Maybe the reason I missed them was that I wasn't paying attention in 1st term calculus back when I took it.

Thanks for the offer. I'm sure I can find explanations about them online or in a library book.

 

[prplchknz]

No

 

[cascadeco]

Yeah, I was good at it in school and liked it. In college I got up to calc of several variables (which was the first math class I did not do well at; scraped by with a C+), differential equations (which I did do well at), and linear algebra (which I did well at and just seemed more tedious to me).

 

[Bush]

You could say (fuzzily) that I work in applied math. So I definitely know the concepts, and I definitely know which tools to use for which job. I used to know the nuances -- like, say, calculus rules or Fourier transform rules -- but I don't anymore. Could probably be halfway decent if I bothered to brush up, but I get spoiled by tools like Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Intelligence .

But if you and I went to dinner and need to split the bill in two, you'd probably want to double-check me in case I accidentally ripped you off. And I'm not one who could "just know" what 73 + 85 is -- I'd just pray that you don't catch me using my fingers to figure it out. I'm godawful with arithmetic.

 

[1487610420]

I used to be good at math but then I toke arrow to the knee

 

[LucieCat]

I'm actually above average in math. It's something I've never really enjoyed studying though. I find that I often get the big picture concepts, how things relate and how to solve problems. But my fatal flaw is that I'm so focused on the big picture math that I mess up on the very easy, basic stuff (probably making me seem worse than I am).

Math doesn't come naturally to me either. As a child, it caused a lot of frustration for me. I also had a terrible math teacher one year who was relentlessly awful towards me. I had nightmares about this woman for about 4 years after having had her as a teacher. This was also at the lowest point of my life (middle school), which just made it worse.

I appreciate the usefulness of math. The only part of math I can't appreciate is geometric proofs. I couldn't stand writing them in high school.

 

[LucieCat]

Interesting. I never took pre-calculus, and I'd assumed they were something I'd missed from that. Maybe the reason I missed them was that I wasn't paying attention in 1st term calculus back when I took it. Thanks for the offer. I'm sure I can find explanations about them online or in a library book.

I learned about e and ln in my second year algebra course in high school. They're tough. I'd have to brush up on them, but I'm fairly certain there's a rhyme and reason to them. What that is, I can't remember.

 

[Metis]

The only part of math I can't appreciate is geometric proofs. I couldn't stand writing them in high school.

Geometry was the math class that actually came extremely intuitively to me. I wasn't a good student, so although I was told at an early age that I was "good at math" and placed into "gifted/talented" programs for it, I didn't do as well in most of my math classes as my more diligent classmates did. So one year, I'm in Algebra, goofing around in class, doing about 40% of my homework, and probably getting C's and B's--I forget. Then, sophomore freshman year, I think, I'm in Geometry, most of my classmates are juniors sophomores IIRC (I don't remember our years), I'm not doing the homework, but I'm blowing everyone out of the water on test scores. Teacher thought I was a genius, I'm told. Then I go on the next year to Intermediate Algebra w/ Trig, and I do alright, but nothing impressive like it was with the geometry class.

Apparently, I'm a Geometric Proofs genius. You want a geometric proof written? $30, please.


I found statistics to be a very different paradigm from regular science pre-req math classes like calculus. I just took a statistics course, and it had a much more "pragmatic" feel.

 

[Norexan]

Yes, sometimes I solved problem which nobody can solve in class but I never liked math so my grades were average... A B and sometimes C.

Although, I like geometry , integrals and generally work with polynomial.