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We should teach early calculus along with entry-level SR/GTR instead of rehashed Newtonian crap. Unite math and physics for a while, and kids might actually see

by M_Grey 10y ago

We should teach early calculus along with entry-level SR/GTR instead of rehashed Newtonian crap. Unite math and physics for a while, and kids might actually see the point of it.

YZF 10y ago
Exactly. Physics becomes so much simpler with calculus. Once you realize e.g. the relationship between position, velocity and acceleration you don't need to memorize 20 different equations for all the different flavours of problems that are basically down to integrating or differentiating ...
- spike021 10y ago
  But "you need to learn the hard way everybody else did it before X formula/equation was developed!" I agree it's nice to know the logic and background that is the foundation of how we got _here_, but sometimes the older details aren't really as important and take away time from students learning the modern, more useful techniques and concepts. One of the big things about kids and math these days is that you have less and less of their attention. If they see it's getting too hard, most don't take the challenge and they just put less effort in.
  - rconti 10y ago
    I couldn't disagree more. It gets too hard when you're asking students to memorize arbitrary equations that make no sense to them. It gets too hard when you give them 30 problems that look identical and they do 3 or 4 and figure that's good enough because they know how to run numbers through the meat grinder of a formula. I don't see how students can truly learn if they don't understand the formulas they're applying and their relevance to the real world.
- learc83 10y ago
  I held off taking physics in college until my senior year because I dreaded the 3 hour labs. By the time I got there I had 3 levels of calculus (and linear algebra, and plenty of proof based CS classes) under my belt, and it turned out to be one of the easiest classes I've taken. Like you said, I didn't have to bother memorizing anything, because everything could pretty much be done with simple integration or differentiation.

by M_Grey 10y ago

We should teach early calculus along with entry-level SR/GTR instead of rehashed Newtonian crap. Unite math and physics for a while, and kids might actually see the point of it.

YZF 10y ago

Exactly. Physics becomes so much simpler with calculus. Once you realize e.g. the relationship between position, velocity and acceleration you don't need to memorize 20 different equations for all the different flavours of problems that are basically down to integrating or differentiating ...

spike021 10y ago
But "you need to learn the hard way everybody else did it before X formula/equation was developed!" I agree it's nice to know the logic and background that is the foundation of how we got _here_, but sometimes the older details aren't really as important and take away time from students learning the modern, more useful techniques and concepts. One of the big things about kids and math these days is that you have less and less of their attention. If they see it's getting too hard, most don't take the challenge and they just put less effort in.
- rconti 10y ago
  I couldn't disagree more. It gets too hard when you're asking students to memorize arbitrary equations that make no sense to them. It gets too hard when you give them 30 problems that look identical and they do 3 or 4 and figure that's good enough because they know how to run numbers through the meat grinder of a formula. I don't see how students can truly learn if they don't understand the formulas they're applying and their relevance to the real world.
learc83 10y ago
I held off taking physics in college until my senior year because I dreaded the 3 hour labs. By the time I got there I had 3 levels of calculus (and linear algebra, and plenty of proof based CS classes) under my belt, and it turned out to be one of the easiest classes I've taken. Like you said, I didn't have to bother memorizing anything, because everything could pretty much be done with simple integration or differentiation.