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I think mathematical notation is a big part of it. It just seems optimized for writing, not reading, and especially not teaching. Feynman talks about inventing
by nzmsv 17y ago
I think mathematical notation is a big part of it. It just seems optimized for writing, not reading, and especially not teaching.
Feynman talks about inventing his own notation in his autobiography. He then had to give it up, because he had to communicate with other people. Reading that made me abandon thoughts of doing the same, and realize I'm not the only one having trouble with it.
- yequalsx 17y agoWell, another aspect is that there is so much information conveyed with a mathematical statement. Consider the distributive property: a (b+c) = ab + ac It's quite simple but has some major consequences. These consequences aren't obvious either until someone acquires the skill at being able to understand what a formula really is saying. For instance, the distributive property is why x - 3x is the same as -2x It takes most people a bit of effort and time to understand this though.