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I've seen many articles like this, and they're always wonderful to read, as they bring up so many interesting interactions between the world and mathematics- ho

by Vexs 10y ago

I've seen many articles like this, and they're always wonderful to read, as they bring up so many interesting interactions between the world and mathematics- however, I remember back to struggling through calculus as kind of an antithesis of sorts- I understood how calculus worked at a more "artistic" level, the interaction of graphs, shapes, and how they all collected together, however, to be able to actually do the operations required of me involved a long series of rather troublesome bits of mat that still bother me to this day! It's very similar to how most anyone can catch a ball, but it takes way more to catch the ball on paper.

abecedarius 10y ago
I read somewhere that people catch a fly ball in the same way as that bird in the article caught its prey -- by feedback control, not by calculating the trajectory even subconsciously. (Citation needed, yeah.) Math education could be so much better, when you compare school to self-directed learning with knowledgeable peers. I went to a good high school by U.S. standards, and tested into the advanced freshman math class at Caltech, and still had to ask if the roots of a polynomial with real coefficients came in complex-conjugate pairs -- I wasn't sure. (Maybe nowadays with math circles and the web, the frosh are a lot better prepared?) I think there's also a problem with the culture of math writing undervaluing things like examples and motivating background. http://worrydream.com/KillMath/ http://worrydream.com/KillMath/ talks about going beyond the limits of paper for media for doing math.
j7ake 10y ago
I don't think your analogy is good. The troubles of actually doing the operations but no trouble of what's happening at the artistic level is coming from your missing a few key steps at level of nuts and bolts... it is more similar to how you can picture in your head a beautiful dog... But when you try to convert that image in your head to pencil you get stuck... Knowing some artistic techniques may help (perspectives, shading) Practicing mathematics exercises would be like practicing your technique ... It takes some time to develop the expertise. Then when it's time to do math you can use your techniques so avoid letting small details trip you up and let you focus on the bigger picture.

by Vexs 10y ago

abecedarius 10y ago

I read somewhere that people catch a fly ball in the same way as that bird in the article caught its prey -- by feedback control, not by calculating the trajectory even subconsciously. (Citation needed, yeah.) Math education could be so much better, when you compare school to self-directed learning with knowledgeable peers. I went to a good high school by U.S. standards, and tested into the advanced freshman math class at Caltech, and still had to ask if the roots of a polynomial with real coefficients came in complex-conjugate pairs -- I wasn't sure. (Maybe nowadays with math circles and the web, the frosh are a lot better prepared?) I think there's also a problem with the culture of math writing undervaluing things like examples and motivating background. http://worrydream.com/KillMath/ http://worrydream.com/KillMath/ talks about going beyond the limits of paper for media for doing math.

j7ake 10y ago

I don't think your analogy is good. The troubles of actually doing the operations but no trouble of what's happening at the artistic level is coming from your missing a few key steps at level of nuts and bolts... it is more similar to how you can picture in your head a beautiful dog... But when you try to convert that image in your head to pencil you get stuck... Knowing some artistic techniques may help (perspectives, shading) Practicing mathematics exercises would be like practicing your technique ... It takes some time to develop the expertise. Then when it's time to do math you can use your techniques so avoid letting small details trip you up and let you focus on the bigger picture.