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

[frob2900]

The only math that really seems interesting to me is stuff that requires too much of a time investment on my part to study (since there are several uninteresting prereq classes).

Like what?

I do have enormous respect for math though, and I really like symbolic logic, which sorta segues into set theory which I guess is math.

You like the manipulation game in symbolic logic? There's a good chance you'd like algebra then too, if you gave it a chance, since it's rather similar stuff.

I like symbolic logic too, unfortunately I hardly (n)ever get to use it in my work.

 

[Fifty]

Like what?

Real Analysis seemed like a cool course to me, but there are so many boring pre-recs that it seems pointless. There is also a nonlinear optimization course that seemed cool for my studies in economics.

You like the manipulation game in symbolic logic?

Yeah, my style of doing math is definitely logic-chopper, which is a large part of why I disliked visualization-heavy courses like multivar calc, because I suck at visualizing stuff.

There's a good chance you'd like algebra then too, if you gave it a chance, since it's rather similar stuff.

There's quite a few prerecs to get into modern algebra courses at my school. Even when I was a math/econ combined major, I wouldn't have been able to take modern algebra because it is useless for economics.

I like symbolic logic too, unfortunately I hardly (n)ever get to use it in my work.

It pops up a lot in philosophy. One of the coolest things I've done in a philosophy class is research how certain problems in the philosophy of language (specifically, the meaning-reference distinction) can be dissolved using modal logic.

 

[frob2900]

Real Analysis seemed like a cool course to me, but there are so many boring pre-recs that it seems pointless. There is also a nonlinear optimization course that seemed cool for my studies in economics.

AFAIK there aren't really that many prereqs for Real Analysis, apart from some set theory. You need to be able to manipulate sums and stuff, I guess, and do some algebra, but it's nothing really nasty.

You could also do Real analysis the abstract way, ignoring the real number line, and just study the thing from a set theoretic perspective (this has the added advantage of applying to more sets than just the real numbers.. metric spaces, function spaces etc.).

There's quite a few prerecs to get into modern algebra courses at my school. Even when I was a math/econ combined major, I wouldn't have been able to take modern algebra because it is useless for economics.

Heh. Linear algebra would be useful. though

 

[Fifty]

Heh. Linear algebra would be useful. though

Indeed, and I've taken Linear Algebra 1. Although I'm not an econ major anymore so that doesn't matter. It did feel good though to be a philosophy major doing better in the class than all the math/compsci/physics people

 

[Harbringer]

100% of us will use 100% of the math we learn through third grade, 50% of us will se 50%(not the same fifty for all) of the math we learn through sixth. After that the only people who use any of the mandatory maths taught after sixth fall into two catagories. The first, being engineer fields and the like, the advanced math fields, this acccounts for 15% of these two grops. The other 85%......math teachers

 

[frob2900]

Indeed, and I've taken Linear Algebra 1. Although I'm not an econ major anymore so that doesn't matter. It did feel good though to be a philosophy major doing better in the class than all the math/compsci/physics people

I'm probably going to p--- off a bunch of people saying this, but in my experience Comp.Sci. people really, really suck at Linear Algebra. Physics people generally aren't too hot either, before they are forced to learn it while doing QM.

The neat thing about linear algebra is, once you understand it well, you are 50% on your way to having a fairly good grasp of QM.

 

[TheBladeRoden]

I also forgot to mention that math ruined science for me, and for that i will never forgive it.

 

[Grisu]

I always liked Maths I agree with Masq on this, the main reason so many people don't like it is because you can't bluff it. If you're bad at maths you'll be bad....unlike some other subjects where you can bluff your way through....I should know

 

[ParadigmShifter]

100% of us will use 100% of the math we learn through third grade, 50% of us will se 50%(not the same fifty for all) of the math we learn through sixth. After that the only people who use any of the mandatory maths taught after sixth fall into two catagories. The first, being engineer fields and the like, the advanced math fields, this acccounts for 15% of these two grops. The other 85%......math teachers

You forgot 3D computer games programmer. Lots of trignometry, vectors/matrices (linear algebra). Plus there's loads of physics involved these days which needs differentiation/integration. Combinatorics and graph theory is handy for AI.

 

[aneeshm]

Yes! Another one has seen the light! This made my day.

Integral

Count me into that bunch.

The point is, I never really found calculus "uninteresting" to begin with, because we had to use it before we learnt it - the 11th class physics syllabus was completely based on it, and could NOT be understood without it, but we learnt it formally only in 12th. So I knew the applications before the actual material, and that's why I actually wanted to learn the stuff.