Why is mathematics boring/difficult to/for many people?

[Till]

Bad marketing.

Plus math usually does not allow you to bluff, fake or lazy your way through it...

Well put! Math profs, at least here, take pride in presenting their subject in the driest way possible. Their idea of 'spicing things up' is to present an extra proof for a theorem...
It's just incredibly hard to summon up the motivation to learn all the definitions/theorems under such conditions. And once you've started to slip in that regard, things go downhill fast, as you'll be completely unable to follow the lecture.
I still remember how relieved i was when i finally passed the last undergraduate math exam.

 

[frob2900]

He goes in cycles, like a sin graph. In 6 minutes he'll post the same thing again.

Now you're going off on a tangent!

 

[Catharsis]

Now you're going off on a tangent!

No, I'm totally normal.

 

[Perfection]

I secant that statement!

Edit: Fricken' cat.

 

[frob2900]

No, I'm totally normal.

Yes, but your post wasn't "integral" to the subject at hand!

 

[StarWorms]

I always found maths easy, and because of that, got bored of it by the time it came for me to decide on a future occupation after school, so I didn't choose a maths-based one (although maths will be very useful in the degree I'm doing).

Yes, but your post wasn't "integral" to the subject at hand!

Sorry, but I think you're being quite irrational here

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Here's an intersting theorem for y'all:

First stated by Stefan Banach and Alfred Tarski in 1924, the Banach–Tarski paradox or Hausdorff–Banach–Tarski paradox is the famous "doubling the ball" paradox, which states that by using the axiom of choice it is possible to take a solid ball in 3-dimensional space, partition the points that make it up into finitely many (non-measurable) subsets and, moving them using only rotations and translations, reassemble the subsets into two balls of the same radius as the original. That is, from one object, one can make two identical copies, without stretching, bending or creating matter.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

In my case, I was terrified of the Count from Sesame Street as a child.

 

[frob2900]

I always found maths easy, and because of that, got bored of it by the time it came for me to decide on a future occupation after school, so I didn't choose a maths-based one (although maths will be very useful in the degree I'm doing).

You found maths easy at what level? I had this problem too in high school, but it got really interesting first in college. There really are very interesting and challenging problems in college level math.

 

[Catharsis]

Yes, but your post wasn't "integral" to the subject at hand!

It was a reflex action; you're just being obtuse.

(Why do these maths threads always end up as pun wars?)

 

[Perfection]

Actually sounds pretty boring to me, Paradigm, I don't see what the big deal is about it.

 

[Integral]

Sorry, but I think you're being quite irrational here

Guys, this is all most improper.

Anyway, math from algebra to calculus is a hurdle to a lot of people due to the abstraction involved. Math beyond calculus is also a hurdle...because of the abstraction involved.

It's easier when applications are introduced and used throughout, to build intuition. Then, when students can handle the abstraction, it takes center stage.

Integral

 

[Mirc]

I think some people have a misunderstanding of what mathematics is: they see it as something that is hard, whereas in reality it is a tool to make things easier.

QFT!

Bad marketing.

Plus math usually does not allow you to bluff, fake or lazy your way through it...

QFT!

And I've asked this question myself too... So many people seem to hate mathematics.

 

[Ansar]

It was a reflex action; you're just being obtuse.

(Why do these maths threads always end up as pun wars?)

It's acute way to portray how fun math can be! [/lamepun]

 

[frob2900]

Actually sounds pretty boring to me, Paradigm, I don't see what the big deal is about it.

Because it proves that the axiom of choice gives rise to a physically impossible result. (then again the non-measurable subsets are a problem too. They assume a continuum theory of matter, which is impossible at the atomic level)

 

[Integral]

So many people seem to hate mathematics.

Math gets very hard very quickly, compared to other high school subjects like English, History, and the like. The science presented in HS is (usually) at enough of an introductory level that it's not overly difficult, and languages are usually the same. But math...a good math curriculum can be very abstract to the average student.

I happen to enjoy math and the foundations behind it, but most people will never use anything more than the applications. Because of this, and in the interest of making math as enjoyable as possible, concrete examples should be used throughout mathematics curricula in high schools. Math without applications is boring to anyone who's not going to study pure math or advanced science.

Oh, and since this is a math thread... the xkcd math forum

Integral

EDIT: It's Catharsis! You're still normal, I see...

 

[Ansar]

My least-favorite subject is actually English.

 

[Catharsis]

The reason I prefer Maths over English, History etc. (although I do like History) is because I don't have to write any essays. Any amount of boredom is worth that, IMO.

 

[StarWorms]

You found maths easy at what level? I had this problem too in high school, but it got really interesting first in college. There really are very interesting and challenging problems in college level math.

Well all levels really. In the last year of primary school (aged 10-11) I was taught (sort of) level 6, which wasn't unheard of by any means but it was quite rare. GCSEs (14-16) I took the level 9 and 10 paper (wasn't taught it), which was quite rare. I also asked if I could take my A levels early, but sadly my maths teacher died of cancer and we got a different teacher. I was really enthusiastic until then and often formulated my own ideas, which must have been done before at some point, but that doesn't matter to me - more that I came up with them on my own. For example, a way to find out, without a calculator if something is divisible by 11, and also how to solve those "magic square?" puzzles where all lines and diagonals have to add up to the same number. Anyway, then came my A levels (16-18), the first half of which I worked for, because it's the easier half, and is 50%, and then slacked for the last 50%, still getting the top grade with a big margin. I was quite annoyed that they'd taken out a lot of the harder stuff, as now I will be grouped with people less able at maths than me (that's not me being arrogant, it's me being honest. A levels are a complete shambles - sciences are being made easier and easier because less people are taking them. The whole point of tests is to distinguish people from eachother in terms of ability, but now that 1/4 - 1/3 gets the top grade, it's getting quite pointless as universities actually need to decide between people. That's my 1p anyway (going by the current exchange rates )

The reason I prefer Maths over English, History etc. (although I do like History) is because I don't have to write any essays. Any amount of boredom is worth that, IMO.

QFT. That is the one thing I absolutely hate. I miss not having to do essays at school after I chose my own subjects (Maths, Biology, Chemistry), but now that I'm at uni, we have to do 2 essays per term.

People used to ask me at school, or parents of friends would see my mum and ask us what I was doing at A level - I'd say Maths, Biology and Chemistry, and they'd cringe at the thought of it. However those were the subjects that I found the easiest and I don't understand why people cringe at the thought of them.

 

[nihilistic]

IMO it's usually because people often try to memorize formulas with no effort made to understand it. That is all fine in elementary school, but as it goes on it deteriorates because math builds on itself heavily. To be able to do algebra you must understand arithmetic; to be able to do calculus you must understand algebra; and so on. The key word here is "understand". Many people can 'do' algebra but has no understanding of it. For them algebra becomes not only boring but almost impossible to actually utilize, because they brute-force memorized it. When they take a calculus course they realize that they have to relearn algebra because even though they can 'do' algebra they don't have any mental picture on what the symbols are supposed to mean.