3 ms·

Ever tried to teach an introductory Physics class without using geometry, trigonometry or calculus? (Edit: for that matter, teaching statistics to students wit

by alxlaz 7y ago

Ever tried to teach an introductory Physics class without using geometry, trigonometry or calculus? (Edit: for that matter, teaching statistics to students with limited exposure to calculus is not a very successful endeavour, either...) There are a lot of things that mathematics is fundamental to besides data science, and schools need to address the requirements of all children, not just those who want to write (a very limited range of) software when they grow up.

samastur 7y ago
I wish I could upvote this comment more.
aeternum 7y ago
I hated calculus until learning Physics. It was so abstract and seemed useless. I'd much rather be presented with a problem, like how far did this ball travel, then learn calculus as a tool to solve that problem. I agree with you though that attempts to teach Physics without calculus are sorely misguided. It's ridiculous to force students to memorize kinematic equations that can be trivially derived from each other.
- shkkmo 7y ago
  I got lucky enough to be able to take both Calculus and Physics concurrently from the local University rather than taking Physics without calculus from my high school. It almost seems like they should be taught as a single interdisciplinary class.
wwarner 7y ago
Not really an argument. Spolsky didn't suggest leaving out geometry. Trigonometry and calculus can be shortened and taught to prepare a student for statistical reasoning, which includes plenty of trig and calc. And finally, what makes the way physics is taught so sacred? Introductory physics doesn't bear much resemblance to what physicists have been talking about for the past 100 years or so, precisely because the student lacks the statistical reasoning that modern physics requires.
runevault 7y ago
Having gone through both without (high school) and with (college) calculus physics, yeah, it's actually easier with. I think I agree with a sibling comment though, building the two together but taking up the time of two classes (learning the physics by learning the calculus to do it) makes more sense IMO.

by alxlaz 7y ago

samastur 7y ago

I wish I could upvote this comment more.

aeternum 7y ago

I hated calculus until learning Physics. It was so abstract and seemed useless. I'd much rather be presented with a problem, like how far did this ball travel, then learn calculus as a tool to solve that problem. I agree with you though that attempts to teach Physics without calculus are sorely misguided. It's ridiculous to force students to memorize kinematic equations that can be trivially derived from each other.

shkkmo 7y ago
I got lucky enough to be able to take both Calculus and Physics concurrently from the local University rather than taking Physics without calculus from my high school. It almost seems like they should be taught as a single interdisciplinary class.

wwarner 7y ago

Not really an argument. Spolsky didn't suggest leaving out geometry. Trigonometry and calculus can be shortened and taught to prepare a student for statistical reasoning, which includes plenty of trig and calc. And finally, what makes the way physics is taught so sacred? Introductory physics doesn't bear much resemblance to what physicists have been talking about for the past 100 years or so, precisely because the student lacks the statistical reasoning that modern physics requires.

runevault 7y ago

Having gone through both without (high school) and with (college) calculus physics, yeah, it's actually easier with. I think I agree with a sibling comment though, building the two together but taking up the time of two classes (learning the physics by learning the calculus to do it) makes more sense IMO.