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I realize that using words like "vector" and "combinatorics" are poor choices. This is part of the problem. It is difficult to come up with a good metaphor that
by shou4577 16y ago
I realize that using words like "vector" and "combinatorics" are poor choices. This is part of the problem. It is difficult to come up with a good metaphor that is simultaneously interesting and meaningful. I think the Rubik's cube is a great example. Thanks, I'll be using that in the future.
- protomyth 16y ago"There are a lot of hard problems out there, sometimes they are toys like the Rubik's Cube and sometimes its quantum physics. I work on the math that let's people solve them." Every software developer has had this conversation themselves.
- sliverstorm 16y agoTelling them what it can do or what it is used for is almost always the best way to talk about something you do with the totally uninitiated. Make sure it's something they've heard of before, e.g. the Rubik's cube example.
- pbhjpbhj 16y ago>"Telling them what it can do or what it is used for is almost always the best way to talk about something you do with the totally uninitiated." Although I'd guess for most researchers in Maths what it can be used for is many years away (if it actually has a "practical use") and what it can do is far too esoteric for the layman.
- aplusbi 16y agoThe problem with toy-based analogies is that people then think the math is a toy. "Who cares if you can solve a Rubik's cube faster?"