3 ms·

As a kid I cried at times because learning foreign words, lists of topological places, or events in history was so hard! If I don't get the structure or context

As a kid I cried at times because learning foreign words, lists of topological places, or events in history was so hard! If I don't get the structure or context I am so lost. At electrical engineering they still tried to teach me in the same way. Giving me assignments with little context. What saved me in the end were textbooks and the internet. The easiest way for me to understand new concepts are the subsequent generalizations or extremes. Complex numbers? Quaternions. Gradients? Clifford algebra. Sets? Categories. Fourier transform? Wavelets. Sure there might be people who benefit from solving the puzzles from their teachers, but it assumes that every mind works the same way.

groovy2shoes 10y ago
I'm the same way. At university, I had an instructor for Calculus I who seemed content with just having us memorize formulas and identities and "shortcuts", only to regurgitate them on demand. I barely passed with a C-. Then, I had an instructor for Calculus II who was much the same. I made a D+ in Calc II, which, since Calculus I-III are considered essential courses for engineering students, was not passing. My second time through Calc II, I barely passed with a C-. Then, I get to Calculus III, and my instructor introduces each concept by showing us a complicated-but-ultimately-intuitive formula for something, then deriving the "shortcut" step-by-step. While most of the students griped that it was boring, I found it quite interesting, and for the first time in my university career I felt like I could grasp calculus. I made an A-. There are other instances of this, as well, but that one was probably the most dramatic. I don't know what it is. I came up with a handful of analogies just now, but none of them seemed particularly satisfying, so I gave up. Perhaps it's just a quirk, I dunno :)
- radicsge 10y ago
  double this. Practicing is useless, if you dont have motivation where you can apply this knowledge. I wish i could go back in time and learn the math in university once again after failing to understand things in stat and ml. just because missing basics things what i "practiced" in the past without understanding it...
- pasbesoin 10y ago
  Calc I, I had the "hard" professor ("Oh, you have A.? Sorry."). I found he was challenging, but also a good instructor. A. Calc II, I had a guest/evaluation professor. Disorganized. Poor descriptions. No context. I really struggled with that class. They didn't renew the Calc II professor's contract. But the damage was done, for my class.

groovy2shoes 10y ago

I'm the same way. At university, I had an instructor for Calculus I who seemed content with just having us memorize formulas and identities and "shortcuts", only to regurgitate them on demand. I barely passed with a C-. Then, I had an instructor for Calculus II who was much the same. I made a D+ in Calc II, which, since Calculus I-III are considered essential courses for engineering students, was not passing. My second time through Calc II, I barely passed with a C-. Then, I get to Calculus III, and my instructor introduces each concept by showing us a complicated-but-ultimately-intuitive formula for something, then deriving the "shortcut" step-by-step. While most of the students griped that it was boring, I found it quite interesting, and for the first time in my university career I felt like I could grasp calculus. I made an A-. There are other instances of this, as well, but that one was probably the most dramatic. I don't know what it is. I came up with a handful of analogies just now, but none of them seemed particularly satisfying, so I gave up. Perhaps it's just a quirk, I dunno :)

radicsge 10y ago
double this. Practicing is useless, if you dont have motivation where you can apply this knowledge. I wish i could go back in time and learn the math in university once again after failing to understand things in stat and ml. just because missing basics things what i "practiced" in the past without understanding it...
pasbesoin 10y ago
Calc I, I had the "hard" professor ("Oh, you have A.? Sorry."). I found he was challenging, but also a good instructor. A. Calc II, I had a guest/evaluation professor. Disorganized. Poor descriptions. No context. I really struggled with that class. They didn't renew the Calc II professor's contract. But the damage was done, for my class.