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Yay! I can divide polynomials! Wait, what am I doing with my life?

Blue Nocturne

Not THAT one.
    • 636
    Posts
    16
    Years
    • Age 29
    • Seen Mar 6, 2013
    Among school subjects, Maths seems to be the one that is most hotly debated. Are students taught key life skills or just pointless formulas they'll never need? Almost everyone will need to know addition, subtraction, etc. Maybe even more complex, abstract idea like Simultaneous Equations might come in handy when budgeting. But what of trigonometry, surds and calculus? Certainly useful, and for many career paths, necessary. But is it really applicable by a large percentage of people? If not, why is it being taught at a point where most students don't have a choice whether to study it or not?

    In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school? Do you use them regularly at work and home?

    Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be?


    I almost certainly let my bias creep in up there. I find most of the maths I've learned to be pretty irrelevant to me. I've still taken it at A Levels, because there are bits and bobs that are useful, and the qualification is demanded by a few universities. However, last year, when maths wasn't an option, my class was taught some fairly advanced stuff, roughly on level with the stuff I've been covering so far this year. I don't think it was at all necessary to try and teach that stuff to everyone before they've been given a chance to decide whether it's even useful. To many, it wasn't. They've dropped maths, never to return.

    Teaching it was ultimately a waste of time and resources, most of my class will push the content of last years maths to the back of their heads, never to use it again. Some skills are general enough to teach everyone, but a lot of it isn't relevant in the same way Art or Sport isn't to everyone.
     
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    In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school? Do you use them regularly at work and home?:     I think I might need it for accounting or helping out coworkers with calculating costs.

    Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be? Kind of.
     
    I don't use math all the time, but since I did learn a bit of it I don't get confused those times when it does come up. And I can reteach myself some of it if I find I need to.

    It helps that I studied enough math that I can do simple addition and multiplication without using a calculator. I can go shopping and know how much I'm spending and how much I have left. If I had could have said "Wait, no, just teach me to add; that's all I'll need" then I probably would have forgotten even my multiplication by now since I never would have used it in every single math class I took since grade school.
     
    It's not just the math you're using though, it's the way of thinking. Up until calculus, I think every math is useful to the average person. I've found myself turning things into a system of equations with variables just because it's easier to see that way. And even the beginning of calculus could be useful - not necessarily, but the stuff about derivatives is certainly interesting and there are a few places where you might use it.

    Beyond that, I would say it's a way of thinking more so than the math itself. Learning math teaches you to think in the most logical ways, which is why for example the class related to logic that I have to take as a computer engineer is called Discrete Math, because what we do is turn logic into math problems and then solve them, because math is the most logical subject in the world.

    I could make this same argument for me and the Philosophy I'm required to take, honestly. When am I going to use the knowledge that Maimonedes or however you spell it believes that there is only negative theology and no positive theology to avoid multiplicity? But if I learn all these things, it helps me to form my own ideas on the world, and shows me how different people think so I can try to think differently in the future.
     
    Toujours said:
    It's not just the math you're using though, it's the way of thinking. Up until calculus, I think every math is useful to the average person. I've found myself turning things into a system of equations with variables just because it's easier to see that way. And even the beginning of calculus could be useful - not necessarily, but the stuff about derivatives is certainly interesting and there are a few places where you might use it.

    Beyond that, I would say it's a way of thinking more so than the math itself. Learning math teaches you to think in the most logical ways, which is why for example the class related to logic that I have to take as a computer engineer is called Discrete Math, because what we do is turn logic into math problems and then solve them, because math is the most logical subject in the world.

    I could make this same argument for me and the Philosophy I'm required to take, honestly. When am I going to use the knowledge that Maimonedes or however you spell it believes that there is only negative theology and no positive theology to avoid multiplicity? But if I learn all these things, it helps me to form my own ideas on the world, and shows me how different people think so I can try to think differently in the future.
    Click to expand...

    You understand! Oh my god she understands! SOMEONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS MY POINT OF VIEW. Well spoken, I agree with the overall message she is conveying.
     
    Math pisses me off because the courses I have to take are completely irrelevant to my major, elementary education. Yeah, you need math in life, but there's just a point where you should know when it's something you won't be using. I'm in pre-cal right now. Why do I need to learn this when the highest math I can possibly teach is pre-algebra? I just don't understand it. Stupid curriculum, I guess.
     
    Gah, maths make my head hurt. It's actually a miracle that I managed to pass because my major required a high score in math.

    >In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school? Do you use them regularly at work and home?
    Only the very basic stuff lol. I can't get nerdy or detailed over something mathematic, it's just hard for me to comprehend in the first place. I'm also glad that all my jobs so far (my current one, too) aren't incured by math knowledge.

    >Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be?
    Generally, I believe it is. Being a no-good at math is something entirely personal, and they are pretty good to know on the whole.
     
    I was one of the best at math growing up, but since I go to art school and haven't had any math classes or used any math in daily life beyond simple arithmetic in 4 years, I've forgotten all the algebraic formulas and whatnot that I learned as a kid/teen.

    That said, I think it's good to have math in school. I don't think learning something is useless even if you don't end up using it - plus you never really know. Brains aren't like hard drives where a bit of information can be a waste space if not used. A little knowledge never hurts. And having learned something once before makes it easier to learn again if the need arises or can broaden your understanding of other things that maybe are more relevant to you.
     
    In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school? Do you use them regularly at work and home?
    Not since I'm currently unemployed, but if I get a job in my preferred field, I'll certianly be using my mad mathematical skillz. (That field is finance, where you work heavily with numbers and formulae.)
    Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be?
    A lot more important than literature, and certainly more important than Phys. Ed, IMO. Math has a wide variety of applications.
     
    The main problem I had was that they never tried to give higher mathematics a real-world use. I mean, "Bob has 3 apples, and gives 1 to Jim, how many does he have left?" shows a real-life use, I wish they would have spelled everything out for crap like "2x * (9^6)7 = 456.2". It could have been a complicated word problem, but at least give it a purpose if you're making me learn it. I mean, it surely could have a use later on in life, but if I don't know what problems to associate with this formula, then what good is it?

    I paint cars for a living, so calculus has never really come into play for me.
     
    Charlie Kelly said:
    The main problem I had was that they never tried to give higher mathematics a real-world use. I mean, "Bob has 3 apples, and gives 1 to Jim, how many does he have left?" shows a real-life use, I wish they would have spelled everything out for crap like "2x * (9^6)7 = 456.2". It could have been a complicated word problem, but at least give it a purpose if you're making me learn it. I mean, it surely could have a use later on in life, but if I don't know what problems to associate with this formula, then what good is it?

    I paint cars for a living, so calculus has never really come into play for me.
    Click to expand...

    But when they make word problems, people who don't like math call it needlessly complicated, lol. For example, my homework earlier this week. They gave us two kinds of questions:

    y'' + 2y' + 26y = x^2e^(−x) cos 5x

    and

    A series circuit consists of a resistor with R = 40 Ω, an inductor with L = 1 H, a capacitor with C = 0.0005 F, and a generator producing a voltage of E(t) = 12sin(20t). If the initial charge and current are both 0, find the charge at time t.

    If you know how the equations relate to circuits and such, then the second problem is identical to the first. But then I have to learn in my math class about circuits, lol. Most people would just prefer that first equation that's at least straightforward over the second one.
     
    In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school? Do you use them regularly at work and home?
    I always find myself using algebra in Accounting and Chemistry. Of course I need to add and subtract so I find that I use maths quite regularly. I also use maths when I'm playing Warcraft III for calculating costs and finding the most time and cost efficient plan.

    Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be?
    I find that most people don't realize most of the stuff you learn at a higher level of education is never applied in real life but it helps you think more logically and think of better ways of approaching problems in real life. Well at least that's what I seemed to have gathered from observing people I meet by comparing their mathematical ability to their ability to solve problems.
     
    Ironically, I am learning how to divide polynomials in class, ahaha. I can't do them so well. u.u. I think that I will find myself using some advanced math skills in my future. I don't know what EXACTLY I'd use, but it'd be algebra based, I already know. I don't think that it would be dividing polynomials however, because I never want to have to do these wretched things again.

    I think the education school places too high of a need on mathematics. Yes, math is important and will be used everywhere in life. But no, not everyone is going to need to know how to, for example, divide polynomials. People should be able to adapt their math needs as they need them. It'd be pointless for someone who doesn't plan to take on a math-based career it is relatively pointless. That being said, I wouldn't condone dropping maths off entirely. Doing mental equations will strengthen your brain, and essentially make you better off, no matter what you are doing.


    Yes, MATH IS VERY IMPORTANT. No, IT'S NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE EDUCATION SYSTEM MAKES IT OUT TO BE.
     
    In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school? Do you use them regularly at work and home?
    I have to talk Calculus all the way through because I'm going for a Master's in Computer Science, but the only skill I've used so far is algebra beyond the basics(Addition, Subtraction). But besides work, I will probably never use calculus. Besides video games and work, I will probably never use the majority of my math skills.
    Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be? Heck no, while it is valuable for certain career paths, do you think a bunch of southern folks are gonna be using algebra and trigonometry to count their cows and cattle? The only way math should be taught is have Algebra and Geometry taught up to the high school level, and then anything beyond that is strictly career based.
     
    The objective of a formal education is not merely to bestow practical skills on to young people. If so, school would be irrelevant as children have been taught trades, agriculture, and other necessities for basic living for as long as civilization has existed. Modern education systems operate on the principle that having certain levels of knowledge of mathematics, science, language, and history make for more well-rounded people; that there is inherent value in understanding the nature of the world in which you live.

    Knowledge really is its own reward independent of practicality, and an advanced society relies on young people being exposed to all of the basic areas of knowledge so that they can find the one that suits them best. Not even the most academically-minded person can be a professional historian, physicist, chemist, botanist, linguist, essayist, and mathematician at the same time, but what they do know in each area still makes for a more fulfilled person. All knowledge is a source of peace, comfort, and control, not something to be viewed as a burden.

    People in school tend to turn from things that they don't find personally relevant because so much self-worth is bound up in the grades that students receive on assignments. Being judged on recall of information is the most efficient way of measuring a student's progress in a subject, but the pressure of getting good grades can also risk killing the natural interest that a student should have in a given subject. When learning ceases to be a source of pleasure, that's when students begin to resent what is impractical. Just never, ever let your love of learning die, no matter what, and you'll never feel like you've wasted a minute in school.
     
    I'mma co-sign what Toujours and Kaga posted. I don't use a lot of 'pure' maths in my day to day life that goes beyond the level of addition and subtraction, but I'm really glad I studied the subject for as long as I did (and wish I had the opportunity to learn some more). Partly, it was because it was my best subject by far, but also because it does help with so many other things in terms of keeping my brain relatively logical. The idea that there is a fixed, definitive answer to a question (apart from when there's not... damn infinities and asymptotes and such) is a relatively comfortable, as opposed to other disciplines where results are dependent on the strength of arguments and not the strength of axioms.

    But I'm rambling. With regards to whether I'll use calculus, trigonometry, statistics, mechanics... probably not, with the possible exception of basic statistics, but I'm glad that maths has 'refined' the way I think into a more logical way of doing things.
     
    First off, PotW time! *stickies*

    I need to work on my math skills more. Sometimes I mess up my multiplication tables. How stupid is that? >_< I personally only use addition/subtraction/multiplication/division these days, but I don't regret taking higher math. I just don't have use for it right this moment.

    I think it's important to have math skills, even if you're not going somewhere where you'll use it often. Who knows when it'll come in handy? *shrugs*
     
    Math is very useful in our daily lives to be honest, although I'd be using majority of what I have learned in Math when I step on in College since I'm taking Accountancy.

    Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be?     I think so!
     
    I'm still in school, but where I want to work, I think I will use a lot of math. That's just because I want to do something in Finance/Statistics/Doctor anyway, so that's a given. I don't use math regularly at home at all, except homework and sometimes shopping. But homework is forced, so I don't count that.

    Math relates to a lot of school subjects, for me anyway. Like, right now I've been taking a Chemistry course at the college level, and the class is basically finding out equations, how much needed to neutralize the substances, energy released, etc. That's just one example out of many though.

    The education system puts math on the golden pedestal. It's a standard by most systems. Anything that's more advanced math is really based on the career you're interested. The thing math has probably helped me out the most though is not how to solve math problems, it's how to solve problems in general. It kind of promotes critical thinking, but that may just be me anyway.
     
    In a nutshell, do you think you'll ever use a majority of the maths skills you were taught in school?

    I'll use some,and some I won't. For example,learning percentage and calculating X will, while some other things like probability will hardly be used.

    Do you use them regularly at work and home?


    Yes,I'd say so

    Bonus Question: Is Maths really as valuable as the education system make it out to be?

    Yes,math IS very imporant imo.It has a big importance in our lifes and is used often, whether it's basic or complex,whether you like it or not.
     
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