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How does one learn mathematics?

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muslimmetalhead
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22 Mar 2015, 4:48 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7odhYT8yzUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYONRn3EbYY

https://www.google.com/search?q=learnin ... ough+music

http://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/


I have books, but I've come across difficulty with these, or have been through the concept already. How to practice math in application?


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Bentastic197
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26 Mar 2015, 1:17 pm

muslimmetalhead wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7odhYT8yzUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYONRn3EbYY

https://www.google.com/search?q=learnin ... ough+music

http://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/


I have books, but I've come across difficulty with these, or have been through the concept already. How to practice math in application?


I'd say you learn by practicing math problems over and over the correct way to solve. I'd ask a teacher or somebody that is proficient in mathematics to help me understand by showing my a pattern or a way to solve them



eric76
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26 Mar 2015, 1:47 pm

To a mathematician and a non-mathematician, the concept of "doing mathematics" is pretty much going to mean different things entirely.

To a non-mathematician, it is about doing arithmetic or other calculations to solve problems.

To a mathematician, it is about proving or disproving theorems to advance our knowledge of mathematics.

That caused a cousin of mine a bit of grief once. He had to take a math course and since I was a math grad student, he asked me who was good over the telephone one day. He read a list of who was teaching the course and I told him who my choice would be. He told his friends and they all took the course and most of them, including my cousin, flunked the course.

I didn't realize it but when he asked me "who was good" that what he really meant "was who was easy and would give the highest grade for the least work". My concept was quite the opposite and the prof I suggested was not particularly easy, but very fair, and would require a great deal of work -- the prof from whom, of those teaching the course, he could learn the most about the subject if he had wished.



Bentastic197
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26 Mar 2015, 2:59 pm

eric76 wrote:
To a mathematician and a non-mathematician, the concept of "doing mathematics" is pretty much going to mean different things entirely.

To a non-mathematician, it is about doing arithmetic or other calculations to solve problems.

To a mathematician, it is about proving or disproving theorems to advance our knowledge of mathematics.

That caused a cousin of mine a bit of grief once. He had to take a math course and since I was a math grad student, he asked me who was good over the telephone one day. He read a list of who was teaching the course and I told him who my choice would be. He told his friends and they all took the course and most of them, including my cousin, flunked the course.

I didn't realize it but when he asked me "who was good" that what he really meant "was who was easy and would give the highest grade for the least work". My concept was quite the opposite and the prof I suggested was not particularly easy, but very fair, and would require a great deal of work -- the prof from whom, of those teaching the course, he could learn the most about the subject if he had wished.


Yeah I agree, although your cousin sounds like a lazy bum.However I don't think he is though



eric76
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26 Mar 2015, 3:16 pm

Bentastic197 wrote:
eric76 wrote:
To a mathematician and a non-mathematician, the concept of "doing mathematics" is pretty much going to mean different things entirely.

To a non-mathematician, it is about doing arithmetic or other calculations to solve problems.

To a mathematician, it is about proving or disproving theorems to advance our knowledge of mathematics.

That caused a cousin of mine a bit of grief once. He had to take a math course and since I was a math grad student, he asked me who was good over the telephone one day. He read a list of who was teaching the course and I told him who my choice would be. He told his friends and they all took the course and most of them, including my cousin, flunked the course.

I didn't realize it but when he asked me "who was good" that what he really meant "was who was easy and would give the highest grade for the least work". My concept was quite the opposite and the prof I suggested was not particularly easy, but very fair, and would require a great deal of work -- the prof from whom, of those teaching the course, he could learn the most about the subject if he had wished.


Yeah I agree, although your cousin sounds like a lazy bum.However I don't think he is though


Like most college students, he was just looking for an easy way to take the course and make a high grade instead of in actually learning anything from the course.



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26 Mar 2015, 3:25 pm

eric76 wrote:
when he asked me "who was good" that what he really meant "was who was easy and would give the highest grade for the least work".


My meaning in asking that question would be "Who is the best at getting the concepts across to people who don't speak the language?" Because in my experience, most math teachers are savants, to whom all mathematical processes are so simple they think anyone who struggles with them is automatically an obtuse idiot, and tend to treat their students as such. When you ask a question, they simply repeat what they just did, but they don't bother to explain it any more clearly the second time around.


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eric76
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07 Apr 2015, 4:41 pm

will@rd wrote:
eric76 wrote:
when he asked me "who was good" that what he really meant "was who was easy and would give the highest grade for the least work".


My meaning in asking that question would be "Who is the best at getting the concepts across to people who don't speak the language?" Because in my experience, most math teachers are savants, to whom all mathematical processes are so simple they think anyone who struggles with them is automatically an obtuse idiot, and tend to treat their students as such. When you ask a question, they simply repeat what they just did, but they don't bother to explain it any more clearly the second time around.


What struck me as odd when teaching math classes is that some students wanted the lecture to be pretty much word for word out of the book. They wanted precisely the same explanation, precisely the same examples, and precisely the same steps in the solution. As far as they were concerned, I might have well of sat on the desk and read the textbook to them.

Even stranger, I used to hand out sample tests to give the students something of an idea of what to study. Some students would only study the practice test and get mad that the problems on the test were not precisely the same as on the sample test.

I wondered about how simplistic their high school classes must have been.



ruveyn
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09 Apr 2015, 4:57 pm

1. First learn the kinds of things and activities that constitute mathematics.

2. If any interest you, then read about it, learn some details.

3. If any excite your passion invest lots of time and effort learning and mastering the material



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18 Apr 2015, 1:47 am

will@rd wrote:
eric76 wrote:
when he asked me "who was good" that what he really meant "was who was easy and would give the highest grade for the least work".


My meaning in asking that question would be "Who is the best at getting the concepts across to people who don't speak the language?" Because in my experience, most math teachers are savants, to whom all mathematical processes are so simple they think anyone who struggles with them is automatically an obtuse idiot, and tend to treat their students as such. When you ask a question, they simply repeat what they just did, but they don't bother to explain it any more clearly the second time around.


Eh....Wait, your saying that anyone who struggles with them is not automatically an obtuse idiot? Just kidding
though i do love mathematics. However, I must admit that I generally can not use a theorem until seeing a derivation and proof. Even if i have to make it myself. But the second I see it, it just sort of clicks.

My suggestion, would be to brush up on your basic arithmetic. Purchase a Ti-84 and go here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdLubh ... SygcJxSjMg that is the channel of my mathematics teacher, (he records the exact lesson he gives us in class then uploads it to youtube. he really is a great guy. plus I go to one of the most prestigious high-schools in the nation so i guarantee its top noch.) I think he has three courses up starting in Algebra and ending in Ap Calc. Enjoy :)