Calculus: Is it Really That Hard?

Post Reply New Topic

IMHO, it can be hard for two reasons.

First, you really need a solid foundation in the math that comes before it, algebra and to some extent trigonometry especially. If you aren't comfortable simplifying equations, factoring them, etc. then its a bit like trying to build a house of cards - while sitting in a car with bad shock absorbers driving on an unpaved road.

Second, at least taking calculus in college in the US on a normal semester system, the pace is such that you really need to keep up. If you fall behind its really tough to catch up again. Most first semester calculus courses are split in to two halves - derivatives first, and then integrals. If you get lost in the derivatives part, its something like starting over when they reach integrals, assuming your grade in the course isn't already hopelessly lost.

Beyond that, its all very logical if you can follow along. Easy is not the right word, but graspable.

It's been awhile since I have been in school, but I have found out in recent years that maybe I would have had a better career if I was not so afraid of the math when I was younger. I had special education when I was a tween and not much math. I later had algebra at the public high school but I decided against a lot of careers and better college because I kept on hearing that this math called calculus is SO HARD! Even my sister, now a dentist, says it was difficult (and yes, she did need it to get into dental school). Worse yet, a psychiatrist I saw as a teen told me that it was "very abstract and no way you would understand it" and was I supposed to believe it? Nobody ever said what this math was, only it is SO HARD! I even chose a college that turned out to be awful because it did not require this math class and I could have gone to much better schools if I only had Calculus.

Later, I would try to study math like college algebra myself from books but I found that it is very difficult to go to even study after work when one is on the spectrum. I feel so exhausted from work I cannot even open a book. I hear that NT people work full time and go to school full time and now, I wonder if they are lying.

So all of you who are on the spectrum and good at advanced math, what is the truth? When you took the class, was it really that bad? Did you get a decent grade? Was I misinformed? It turns out that our high school, few people go to college even today so would I have heard this at a better school? Looking forward to the answers.

It's not that hard. Just apply the rules of logic. No fallacies, no authority to fear, no loser to punch when you feel like it, no vagueness---much easier than talking to people.

Yea. This is one things I like about math. The rules are all very definite. There are no absurdities or weird exceptions. Nothing is random and everything fits together perfectly. This isn't the case for things like languages or legal systems.

Once you get to the most advanced levels in mathematical real analysis, that notion ceases to be relevant.

No. Logic still holds pretty tight in real analysis. When you understand it, it all makes sense. It's just a matter of getting to that point.

The only math I found unsettle was mathematical logic and axiomatic set theory. There are some paradoxes there, and there's ambiguity on how you choose your axioms. Once you construct the integers it's all okay though.