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I congratulate you on your innate talent that allows you to excel that way. In various subjects, particularly abstract mathematics, I had to grind heavily in o

I congratulate you on your innate talent that allows you to excel that way. In various subjects, particularly abstract mathematics, I had to grind heavily in order to keep up with the class. I attended every office hours and pattern matched heavily, studying into the wee hours. (I had tried your method and failed in previous semesters). Other subjects I had no problem. Low-level operating systems, writing, literary deconstruction, chemistry, foreign languages, statistics: I had no issues studying a reasonable amount and having a good work-life balance. Eventually I realized that I was never grokking things with mathematics beyond a certain point. I was in office hours with the professor, asking how I could generalize the concept to a new problem. He said "just use your critical thinking skills! That's what employers are looking for." I truly didn't have the ingenuity to do it. I really wanted to be good at it, but I knew I never would be. I think you are forgetting about the areas in your life that you don't excel at, that you couldn't be good at no matter how hard you tried. Some people genuinely have to grind at some things in order to succeed. For me, it allowed me to realize that no matter how beneficial it would be to have a Math minor, it wasn't going to happen. I spent that time pursuing coursework I would benefit more from.

Trundle 10y ago
He may not be forgetting them but rather taking them in to account and picking his pursuits based on it. That's what I do and I think it very much fits in to the same dynamic of valuing efficient use of time or being determined to achieve X. I stick to things I have a natural aptitude for.
cgriswald 10y ago
I do not think we are in disagreement. I'm talking about the difference between someone who maximizes life and education versus someone who maximizes GPA. I'm taking it as a given that these two individuals are equally capable in whatever subject they're studying. That said, I tutor mathematics and I hear all day long "I can't do this" and it has never once been true. For the people I help it is usually a matter of finding how they learn best (visual, verbal, hands on...) and/or finding an appropriate metaphor. And yes, even despite this, they often struggle; but genuine struggle is a good reason to put in more hours. I don't dispute that. Your prof's answer is the kind of answer that disgusts me. It's not teaching. In mathematics it is exceptionally questionable, because it is tantamount to expecting you to derive the whole of mathematics by yourself.
sedachv 10y ago
> In various subjects, particularly abstract mathematics, I had to grind heavily in order to keep up with the class. I attended every office hours and pattern matched heavily, studying into the wee hours. (I had tried your method and failed in previous semesters). Grinding will always fail with abstract mathematics because it distracts you from divergent thinking and spontaneous insights. The problem is that university courses are on a fixed schedule so people that need more time than allotted for this kind of study are not accommodated, which pushes a lot of people away from mathematics who could otherwise contribute.
SilasX 10y ago
>Eventually I realized that I was never grokking things with mathematics beyond a certain point. I was in office hours with the professor, asking how I could generalize the concept to a new problem. He said "just use your critical thinking skills! That's what employers are looking for." That's the introvert's version of "just be yourself, you're overcomplicating it" -- i.e. just draw on innate skills that I have without realizing and you don't.

Trundle 10y ago

He may not be forgetting them but rather taking them in to account and picking his pursuits based on it. That's what I do and I think it very much fits in to the same dynamic of valuing efficient use of time or being determined to achieve X. I stick to things I have a natural aptitude for.

cgriswald 10y ago

I do not think we are in disagreement. I'm talking about the difference between someone who maximizes life and education versus someone who maximizes GPA. I'm taking it as a given that these two individuals are equally capable in whatever subject they're studying. That said, I tutor mathematics and I hear all day long "I can't do this" and it has never once been true. For the people I help it is usually a matter of finding how they learn best (visual, verbal, hands on...) and/or finding an appropriate metaphor. And yes, even despite this, they often struggle; but genuine struggle is a good reason to put in more hours. I don't dispute that. Your prof's answer is the kind of answer that disgusts me. It's not teaching. In mathematics it is exceptionally questionable, because it is tantamount to expecting you to derive the whole of mathematics by yourself.

sedachv 10y ago

> In various subjects, particularly abstract mathematics, I had to grind heavily in order to keep up with the class. I attended every office hours and pattern matched heavily, studying into the wee hours. (I had tried your method and failed in previous semesters). Grinding will always fail with abstract mathematics because it distracts you from divergent thinking and spontaneous insights. The problem is that university courses are on a fixed schedule so people that need more time than allotted for this kind of study are not accommodated, which pushes a lot of people away from mathematics who could otherwise contribute.

SilasX 10y ago

>Eventually I realized that I was never grokking things with mathematics beyond a certain point. I was in office hours with the professor, asking how I could generalize the concept to a new problem. He said "just use your critical thinking skills! That's what employers are looking for." That's the introvert's version of "just be yourself, you're overcomplicating it" -- i.e. just draw on innate skills that I have without realizing and you don't.