Math Classes

[thisIsAThing]

Are complicated math classes making simple math harder? Harder math classes should make you better at simple math, right? I have seen people do calculus type problems, but when they try to add 453+112, it takes over five seconds to mentally add it. What are your thoughts on this matter everyone?

[MarioNintendo]

I believe advanced math classes are meant to make you better at algebra, not at usual operations used in everyday life. If you get specialized in something that relies on terms manipulation rather than on mental calculation, I believe it's normal that people get slower at doing things without paper, yeah!

[justin_ator]

I don't know how much conversation this will truly generate...but as far as I know it's not anything uncommon. I'm in Calculus in high school right now, so it's nothing major, but I can still do Calc as well as if not maybe slightly faster than my simple math. I mess up some of the easiest things sometimes...haha. 3x1=4? Anyway, sad to add in that I know people in Calc who have to pull out a calculator to do simple multiplication.... That is just sad to me. Even younger grades that do it sort of appall me.

[Artic_counter]

Well, it depends on what you are practicing at the moment. With a more complete education in math, you can do about anything but it might take a while before remembering a specific thing. When speaking about speed, it mostly comes down to if you have been grinding that particular subject recently. For easy shit, like mental calculation, it just depends on if you are mentally apt (and trained) for it. Also, even if you excel at group theory and rings and other hard/mind numbing shit. You can suck at mental calculation.

[XCV]

Read this.

A Mathematician's Lament

[virus003]

I'm sure the reason why they take a while to add that is because of all the thought process that's going through the persons mind.

I've always been a math person, and I do agree with you that they do make simple math harder. Imo, math is fun though, because there will always be an answer, and I like numbers.

[Wineandbread]

Just because they take longer to solve some simple addition/multiplication doesn't mean that the knowledge is lost to them. It just takes longer, perhaps because they aren't trained/conditioned to do it as quickly anymore.

People become reliant on calculators & computers to conduct these kinds of mathematical operations later on. If you take an definite integral with weird limits they don't want you wasting time evaluating some random multiplication step. If you're doing some binomial distribution they don't want you calculating/memorizing factorials, nor would you ever be expected to calculate fractional exponentiation in your head. Just a few examples I could think of off the top of my head, and that's not even "high" math imo. The knowledge of "simple" math doesn't really ever become lost though.

[duddychuck@yahoo.com]

Funny, I always do things very fast in my head but I suck at math

[thisIsAThing]

Originally Posted by XCV

Read this.

A Mathematician's Lament

This article is very interesting, although I've only read the first page so far. Thanks for posting it!

[Psychotik]

Ask Cirno.

[fido123]

As long as you can do simple math in a reasonable amount of time you don't really have to keep learning the same stuff. Math involving functions is totally different, although involves simple math.

[ghost-]

Originally Posted by Psychotik

Ask Cirno.

hahahahaha oh god yes