Patrick O'Brian wrote that many men discover, later in life, an appreciation for math that they did not possess when they were being pressured to learn about it in school. This may or may not be the case for the majority of men (and he didn't mention whether it applies to women), but I've definitely found myself to be more interested in math ever since I started doing cabinetry in my late 20's.
I'll probably never really see the elegance and beauty that real mathematicians can find in complex proofs, but at least I feel like I finally got a grasp on geometry that eluded me in junior high! Not to cast aspersions, but I do feel like some of my math teachers could have done a better job of clarifying the underlying logic and purpose of some of those formulae, if not actually revealing their abstract charms. I finally passed geometry on the 2nd try, but it wasn't until much later than 7th grade that I was interested in what it was all about.
But now that I can at least appreciate a decent theorem, I am really enjoying a great series in the New York Times by Steven Strogatz. He is a really smart guy (his CV is terrifying) who has decided to try to explain all math - even the really hard stuff - to us simpletons!! He has done three articles so far and they've all been really interesting and readable. Plus he started off with a video from Sesame Street ("Spark plugs???")!!!
If you feel like you missed something back in school, you may want to check it out! Here is the first one:
And this is the most recent:
Enjoy!!
4 comments:
Cool. I look forward to reading these articles.
Math teachers make all the difference. I was a math wiz, geometry was a breeze, everything made sense. Then David Naiditch left. Trigonometry never held my interest, but I'm sure it would have been fascinating with the right teacher. Alas...
Cool post, babe. I think a lot of math teachers are not very good because math becomes so simple to them - they don't understand why someone else doesn't get it. The best math teacher I ever had was actually my biology teacher. She tutored me in math when I was at Westridge and she told me that she really struggled with math, herself, but she loved science so much that she knew she had to learn math. She was able to break it down and explain it in a way that really made sense.
I wish that I had a greater appreciation for the elegance of math. I managed to get by, but alas...the beauty of it definitely eludes me.
I have told Steve he should become a math teacher - he has that skill, too, and it is very rare. I really believe that one of the reasons I am so intimidated by math is the string of horrible math teachers I had in jr high (and then, you know, I dropped out of school).
Up until that point I loved it and was actually one of the best in my class - and when I finally took my GED (thanks to Julie!), I scored higher on the math than on interpretation of literature, which kind of floored me.
My math teacher at Eagle Rock (in the magnet program, no less) told me that he didn’t care if I passed his class or not, he just wanted me to be quiet (I asked a lot of questions and I guess that bugged him). I pretty much stopped doing all math at that point, and have never really picked it back up again.
So, see, Patrick, how important what you do is? A good (or bad) teacher REALLY has a huge impact on your life.
Amen to that, Bel! So, Patrick, keep telling those kids to be quiet and to stop asking questions! It's the only way to get them to get out of school.
Math, no, not for this lady. But for some reason I decided in college that I should take a physics class. Wha? Well, I did, and it was the most challenging and humbling of classes I ever took. That and Baroque Dance. Seriously! You try to keep all those rhythms and patterns in your head and not move your upper body at all!
Amy
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