Why do people think it is perfectly acceptable to say that

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Sopho
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10 Apr 2007, 7:04 am

Smelena wrote:
Here is a theoretical conversation with people who say maths is boring,

"What did you do this weekend?"
"I got so drunk"
"Cool"
"I vomited everywhere"
"Awesome"

"What did you do this weekend?"
"Reviewed my maths lectures from last week"
"How boring!"

So ... who is the boring one?

Smelena

This is why I never know what to say to people at uni whenever they ask what I did at the weekend or over the holidays or something. Everyone else goes to clubs and gets drunk, I stay at home on the computer or go to museums



JakeG
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10 Apr 2007, 7:05 am

Smelena wrote:
"What did you do this weekend?"
"I got so drunk"
"Cool"
"I vomited everywhere"
"Awesome"

"What did you do this weekend?"
"Reviewed my maths lectures from last week"
"How boring!"

So ... who is the boring one?


LOL. That sounds like a typical conversation in my math lectures. I agree with you though. I don't think there are that many things that are inherently boring, I think that it is people who are generally boring and are unable to develop an interest in anything.



JakeG
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10 Apr 2007, 7:13 am

MrWizard wrote:
Actually, I completely agree with you in almost every way. Coincidentially, you and I are quite alike in our love for math. Not just that though, but I also share the attitude that you seem to have about aquiring the understanding of things below the surface, finding out what's to like and what things are about rather than judging it from the cover, so to speak.


Yep, this is what drives me wild...when people make sweeping generalisations based on only superficial understanding of things.

MrWizard wrote:
This attitude is what originally lead me to seek more from math and I've had an intense love for math and history, literature and science ever since. The philosophy has never let me down and I believe I could find enjoyment in almost any subject. I wouldn't be surprise if it was the same case for you.


It is to some extent. For example, I am very pro-science and appreciate it as a general philosophy but I have never been able to get into any branch of science to a great extent. I read a lot of popular science and even attend some lecture courses for generalists on various branches (eg. Cosmology, Relativity, Particle Physics etc) and I am interested and enjoy it when I start to get a loose understanding of how things work etc. but I have always prefered to be a spectator of science rather than go out there and actually do any myself. I have a lot of interests like this that I dip into from time to time but never fully submerge myself into. I guess I am just naive in the sense that I feel completely overwhelmed by everything and am constantly interested in finding out more about pretty much everything. When I hear something new I tend to immediately want to find out as much as I can.

MrWizard wrote:
I appreciate your bringing this topic up, I enjoyed reading it. It's nice to know that I'm not the only eruditic weirdo out there. :]


Well, I wish I was more erudite as I would then be able to express myself a heck of a lot better than I generally do.



risingphoenix
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10 Apr 2007, 7:53 am

But is Math really the only subject which has the problem of being regarded as boring by many people? I really don't think so.
And it's certainly true that most NTs probably won't be able to understand how one could love to do calculus in ones free time (let alone learn bus plans by heart or so if we are at that), but the other way around, isn't it also that most people with Asperger's will judge typical NT interests (such as sports or celebrity gossip) as boring? Couldn't that be seen as just as "unfair"?


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JakeG
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10 Apr 2007, 8:11 am

risingphoenix wrote:
But is Math really the only subject which has the problem of being regarded as boring by many people? I really don't think so.


Of course not; that is what I said in my original post, that I was sure it applied to many other things but I was just going off my own personal experience.

risingphoenix wrote:
And it's certainly true that most NTs probably won't be able to understand how one could love to do calculus in ones free time (let alone learn bus plans by heart or so if we are at that), but the other way around, isn't it also that most people with Asperger's will judge typical NT interests (such as sports or celebrity gossip) as boring? Couldn't that be seen as just as "unfair"?


I don't even think it is so much an Aspie vs. NT thing and to be honest, I avoid subscribing to that mentality as much as possible; in fact I don't even like the word NT anymore as it seems to be always used in a pejorative context. I can't see why most people with Aspergers would view typical 'NT interests' (if such a thing exists) as boring at all. But I think you are missing my point in that I wasn't neccesarily critiscising people who say they find math boring but rather that I was critiscising anyone (Aspie or NT) who say things are boring when they have no knowledge or experience of them.



Kaleido
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10 Apr 2007, 8:12 am

JakeG wrote:
Well, I wish I was more erudite as I would then be able to express myself a heck of a lot better than I generally do.


You speak very well, a pleasure to read if I may say so.



9CatMom
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10 Apr 2007, 9:09 am

I think English majors get the same thing. Once, I was told by a fellow student that what I was doing was a waste of time. The sad thing is, with all of the political nonsense attached to it, she wound up being right, although for the wrong reason. Her argument was that studying English itself was a waste of time. That hurt me. I love to read. I feel that my skills in reading, organization and study helped in all subject areas.



risingphoenix
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10 Apr 2007, 9:16 am

risingphoenix wrote:
And it's certainly true that most NTs probably won't be able to understand how one could love to do calculus in ones free time (let alone learn bus plans by heart or so if we are at that), but the other way around, isn't it also that most people with Asperger's will judge typical NT interests (such as sports or celebrity gossip) as boring? Couldn't that be seen as just as "unfair"?


I don't even think it is so much an Aspie vs. NT thing and to be honest, I avoid subscribing to that mentality as much as possible; in fact I don't even like the word NT anymore as it seems to be always used in a pejorative context. I can't see why most people with Aspergers would view typical 'NT interests' (if such a thing exists) as boring at all. But I think you are missing my point in that I wasn't neccesarily critiscising people who say they find math boring but rather that I was critiscising anyone (Aspie or NT) who say things are boring when they have no knowledge or experience of them.[/quote]

I was also more referring to the stereotypical cliché-like NT and Aspie (of course not every Aspie is doing calculus all day long and not every NT is as superficial). I'm not too happy with those terms either.
Anyways, I suppose it's hard if not even impossible to get a knowledge of higher math if one isn't even able to master the basics. So I think it's no wonder then that many people find it subjectively boring, if they however say it is boring as if this were an undoubtable general truth, then I find that wrong, too. Although one tends to do that sometimes I suppose, jump to conclusions too hasty about a topic which doesn't appeal to one at first glance. I mean, the thing is, when I'm not interested in a topic in the first place I naturally won't put a lot of effort into learning more about it. And even then I'm sure lots of people would still find it boring, as this is just a matter of taste.


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risingphoenix
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10 Apr 2007, 9:38 am

Smelena wrote:
"What did you do this weekend?"
"I got so drunk"
"Cool"
"I vomited everywhere"
"Awesome"

"What did you do this weekend?"
"Reviewed my maths lectures from last week"
"How boring!"

So ... who is the boring one?

Smelena


Oh come on, as if everyone who doesn't love math was a stupid, superficial airhead who thinks getting drunk and vomiting into the corner is the highlight of every party. Or as if on the other hand there weren't any people who are gifted with math and still thought that way, too.


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matt271
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10 Apr 2007, 9:54 am

risingphoenix wrote:
Smelena wrote:
"What did you do this weekend?"
"I got so drunk"
"Cool"
"I vomited everywhere"
"Awesome"

"What did you do this weekend?"
"Reviewed my maths lectures from last week"
"How boring!"

So ... who is the boring one?

Smelena


Oh come on, as if everyone who doesn't love math was a stupid, superficial airhead who thinks getting drunk and vomiting into the corner is the highlight of every party. Or as if on the other hand there weren't any people who are gifted with math and still thought that way, too.


getting so drunk is unbelievably fun. its funner than anything u can do sober. some ppl try drinking, get a lil buzzed, and think they are drunk. your not drunk until u cant walk :P
the vomiting part is where it turns from fun to s**t. the trick is to get as drunk as u can, w/out getting sick. this is a skill ;)
and reviewing math homework is not fun, its just interesting. there is a huuugggeee difference.



Sopho
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10 Apr 2007, 10:01 am

risingphoenix wrote:
Oh come on, as if everyone who doesn't love math was a stupid, superficial airhead who thinks getting drunk and vomiting into the corner is the highlight of every party. Or as if on the other hand there weren't any people who are gifted with math and still thought that way, too.

I don't think she meant everyone who doesn't love maths is like that



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10 Apr 2007, 10:33 am

Sopho_soph wrote:
risingphoenix wrote:
Oh come on, as if everyone who doesn't love math was a stupid, superficial airhead who thinks getting drunk and vomiting into the corner is the highlight of every party. Or as if on the other hand there weren't any people who are gifted with math and still thought that way, too.

I don't think she meant everyone who doesn't love maths is like that


Exactly, sometimes we consider extreme examples to make a point.



JakeG
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10 Apr 2007, 10:35 am

matt271 wrote:
reviewing math homework is not fun, its just interesting. there is a huuugggeee difference.


That is a matter of opinion. I have the most fun when I am doing something that engages my interest.



Sopho
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10 Apr 2007, 10:39 am

JakeG wrote:
matt271 wrote:
reviewing math homework is not fun, its just interesting. there is a huuugggeee difference.


That is a matter of opinion. I have the most fun when I am doing something that engages my interest.

I've found a lot of lectures to be fun. Highlighting my notes every night and looking through books can also be fun. If I'm worrying about deadlines or something then that's different, but the majority of the time, history is always fun and I'd imagine it's the same for a lot of other people and their particular interests.



JakeG
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10 Apr 2007, 10:43 am

Sopho_soph wrote:
I've found a lot of lectures to be fun.


Same, I mean aside from the actual content, I have some lecturers who can really deliver material well in an entertaining manner; often adding little jokes and historical anecdotes in on the way.

I guess I also find them fun in that even they aren't normally interactive in the truest sense of the word, they feel thatway in comparision to sitting in my room alone reading books and making notes.



Sopho
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10 Apr 2007, 10:49 am

JakeG wrote:
Sopho_soph wrote:
I've found a lot of lectures to be fun.


Same, I mean aside from the actual content, I have some lecturers who can really deliver material well in an entertaining manner; often adding little jokes and historical anecdotes in on the way.

I guess I also find them fun in that even they aren't normally interactive in the truest sense of the word, they feel thatway in comparision to sitting in my room alone reading books and making notes.

I like my lecturers, I've also found I tend to understand jokes they make, whereas with other people I don't. I just wish other people on my course felt the same way... I get disturbed really easily by people talking.