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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 12:27 am
(This post was last modified: October 31, 2015 at 12:38 am by Alex K.)
(October 30, 2015 at 11:54 pm)Chuck Wrote: (July 24, 2014 at 10:01 am)Nestor Wrote: In college I made halfway through Algebra before I quit going. Does that count for anything?
If you are still taking algebra in college, it is probably too late for you to ever make much use of math beyond arithmetics.
I have a question concerning terminology because I only know the senior year classes in the US - What I know as algebra is an advanced undergrad or beginning graduate university lecture (and a subdivision of mathematics) dealing with the properties of groups, rings and fields, and the solvability of equations in those. That is not what the last poster is talking about..? Or Nestor?
Also, holy necroquote!
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 3:14 am
(October 31, 2015 at 12:27 am)Quantum Wrote: (October 30, 2015 at 11:54 pm)Chuck Wrote: If you are still taking algebra in college, it is probably too late for you to ever make much use of math beyond arithmetics.
I have a question concerning terminology because I only know the senior year classes in the US - What I know as algebra is an advanced undergrad or beginning graduate university lecture (and a subdivision of mathematics) dealing with the properties of groups, rings and fields, and the solvability of equations in those. That is not what the last poster is talking about..? Or Nestor?
Probably not. College algebra in the states is solving equations in two variables. It's pretty basic shit.
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 3:15 am
Regardless, algebra is dumb.
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 3:33 am
(This post was last modified: October 31, 2015 at 3:33 am by Alex K.)
(October 31, 2015 at 3:14 am)houseofcantor Wrote: (October 31, 2015 at 12:27 am)Quantum Wrote: I have a question concerning terminology because I only know the senior year classes in the US - What I know as algebra is an advanced undergrad or beginning graduate university lecture (and a subdivision of mathematics) dealing with the properties of groups, rings and fields, and the solvability of equations in those. That is not what the last poster is talking about..? Or Nestor?
Probably not. College algebra in the states is solving equations in two variables. It's pretty basic shit.
Seriously... That is what they sell as algebra In college? Then what is real algebra called?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 3:53 am
Ok I answered my question, American colleges call it "abstract algebra" or "modern algebra"
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 4:54 am
Several science classes that I have had to take were practically just math classes with a science paint job (e.g. physics, to a lesser extent general chemistry). I still don't know when I'm going to use half of that stuff, though. Higher math shouldn't be required; it's just too esoteric to be of any use to the general population. I should note that I don't consider basic algebra to be higher math. Advanced algebra maybe. Probably starting with pre-calculus, though. Nothing I ever learned in pre or AP calculus has been of any use to me ever, whereas at least I've sometimes used algebra in school again.
John Adams Wrote:The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 5:33 am
(This post was last modified: October 31, 2015 at 5:39 am by I_am_not_mafia.)
Also be aware that computing and programming is becoming ever more prevalent as a career and this requires a Mathematical way of thinking. To a large extent a lot of software engineering now is no different to wiring up Lego bricks (I'm looking at you Java and Spring). But games programming requires a lot of 3D geometry. Or there can often be the need for statistics, even if you are not a programmer. All scientists will benefit from statistics. Education isn't just about giving the skills the kids need to enter the work force because those skills may become obsolete half way through their careers and they will need to retrain. Having a good education allows them to retrain more easily.
I wish I had continued with Maths at school. It holds me back in my career and I often have to learn difficult mathematical concepts having missed out on the basics.
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
October 31, 2015 at 6:06 am
I once had a Quantum physics professor, at Uni, who wouldn't consider anything simpler than an integral to be a "calculation".
He could fill an entire blackboard with sums and multiplications and divisions, but none of it was "calculating" anything.
Eventually, the integral was in just the right format and then he'd "calculate" it.
The week after, we learned Dirac's notation and all the integrals got hidden.
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
November 1, 2015 at 3:19 pm
Math seems like one of the few school subjects that can't be made "fashionable", as English and History often are.
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RE: Math Educations: who needs it, how much and when?
November 2, 2015 at 11:40 am
(July 23, 2014 at 2:08 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote: True confessions: I teach this stuff. I enjoy the subject. I like people .. including young ones. I've always said I like teaching math because it is the easiest subject in which to reach clarity and test for validity. I've even said I am covertly teaching critical thinking. But I sometimes wonder about the level of specificity of what is taught.
That's where my question comes from. Teaching middle school I'm charged with teaching kids what seems to many of them very complex and esoteric. So, for me, I sometimes wonder .. am I making everyone practice piano 2 hours a day just so those few who go on to become virtuosos will have received a proper start?
I was just looking at youtube videos of people complaining about the common core. (I start teaching that in a month so my jury is out.) Then I came to this TED talk in which someone with my job asks and offers an answer to my question. Thoughts?
http://youtu.be/xyowJZxrtbg
If math can't be used, it's useless.
Luckily, math is just about the most usable subject out there. It's your job to show kids that math can unlock secrets that they care about.
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