Is there any point to learning math?

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Re: Is there any point to learning math?

Postby DoglovingJim » Sat Dec 12, 2015 11:02 am

52xMax wrote:
NathanLoiselle wrote:
Windy wrote:I trust humans even less than computers. At least I know a computer isn't actively plotting my downfall.


NOT ACCORDING TO STEPHEN HAWKING!


Those comments are just to keep appearances. Everyone knows that both Hawking and Elon Musk are working with the robots. Hell, Hawking is already transitioning into a cyborg.


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Re: Is there any point to learning math?

Postby IamNotCreepy » Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:12 am

So, I'm guessing there are a lot of math/science people here.

Let me give you another perspective. I am good at math, but I always found it extremely boring. I think this was because I got so tired of all my teachers having to re-explain things to people who just didn't get it.

I have a college degree and a decent job, and the most math I have to do is some basic algebra, percentages, fractions, etc.

For instance, a customer was charged the wrong price, so I have to use the base price to calculate their local tax rate, apply it to the correct price, and then subtract the difference.

Maybe this was done over the course of a year so I multiply by 12.

Any math more advanced than that is only useful for specific careers, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they're scamming you.
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Re: Is there any point to learning math?

Postby CarrieVS » Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:22 am

IamNotCreepy wrote:Any math more advanced than that is only useful for specific careers, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they're scamming you.


A while back my dad and I were choosing a rotary washing line. We wanted the one with the longest single length of line, so we could fit sheets on it, and they didn't list that measurement (we were choosing between a four- and a three-sided one of different sizes). So we applied a little basic trigonometry and figured out the answer. That was useful. Those contrived-sounding problems you get in exams really do crop up sometimes.

And you won't believe how many arguments I can win with even a basic knowledge of relativity. I call that useful, besides that relativity is just fascinating. Now you're going to say that that's physics, but theoretical physics and applied maths are largely the same.


But in fact that's all somewhat beside the point. I think a few people are losing track of the context of the question. I think Tess was asking more whether there's anything good for its own sake to be gotten out of learning maths beyond compulsory education, than whether the stuff you learn in school maths lessons has a practical application.

And there is. Of course not everyone enjoys the same things. For everyone who finds it endlessly amusing to pretend to be unable to distinguish between their coffee cup, their ring doughnut, and theirself, there's someone who enjoys watching association football. For everyone who appreciates the beauty of the speed of light being unity, there's someone who can't get enough of the screeching vocals of death metal. For everyone who takes immense satisfaction in a proof that's unexpectedly simple and elegant, there's someone who feels a tremendous sense of achievement at getting the perspective and shading exactly right on a sketch of a human face.

Actually, that last one I would feel a tremendous sense of achievement at, but I don't because I can't do it. And that brings me onto the fact that maths teaching in schools is an awful, terrible thing. Surprisingly, on a look back through this thread, no-one seems to have linked Lockhart's Lament yet. It's a little long but it is very good. Tess actually said in her original post that in school she struggled to understand the point of maths and no-one would really explain it to her. That's a perfectly valid complaint, but it doesn't mean maths is terrible. We teach kids arithmetic in school and we don't teach them what maths is really all about - and many, many people never find out.

I loved maths in school, mostly. We didn't do a lot of it, and it was spread out between reams and reams of repetitive arithmetic, but I was lucky enough to recognise the real stuff in there and appreciate it. When I got to studying A-level Further Maths (which is the furthest you can usually take maths at high school in Britain) and told teachers I wanted to study maths at university, I said I particularly liked Pure Maths, and they told me that most of what I'd studied as 'pure' was actually applied, but nobody actually offered an explanation of what pure maths was. As it turned out, my impression of it was correct - I hadn't meant simply that I'd enjoyed the pure maths course we'd done, and I had grasped what pure maths was about and I did love it. But they came damned close to teaching me that I didn't.

Finally, as has been pointed out already - both Max and I have linked Mandelbrot animations - there's plenty of more conventional beauty that can be achieved through maths. I do encourage anyone who doesn't see any reason for a fine artist to consider maths to take a look at fractals.
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Re: Is there any point to learning math?

Postby Grimstone » Wed Feb 24, 2016 7:32 am

Math is very broad and hard to define, but if I had to sum it all up I would compare it to a toolbox. You have many different tools with overlapping uses and it's up to you to pick the best one for the job and know/learn how to use it. For instance, you probably wouldn't use a circular saw for cutting steaks and you probably wouldn't invest in a lathe just for the heck of it. To answer your questions: yes, yes, and maybe.
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