3 ms·
Right? Like, "we're just playing with derivatives today, but maybe one day your ability to calculate rate of flow is going to come in really handy as a real lif
by xyzelement 6y ago
Right? Like, "we're just playing with derivatives today, but maybe one day your ability to calculate rate of flow is going to come in really handy as a real life skill"
- analog31 6y agoYup. As I understand the history, Newton was aware of the co-development of calculus and physics, because he was the one doing it -- with no concern for real life skills. A lot of the math techniques used in science and engineering were first developed on an abstract basis by mathematicians with no concern for useful applications. But the educational process has to serve two needs. It serves as a place for people to develop intellectually, but also to make themselves employable if they want to be. Those two tracks may be completely mixed together in each class, but the students who are in it for "play" are definitely there. I was one of those students. I came from a middle class family, but I gave relatively little thought to my future career during college.