Posted: 7/25/2011 12:37:46 PM EDT
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I've heard different things from different people. I've heard that it peaks at 400/4000 level classes, and that after them the "movement" becomes more lateral. What do you guys think of this?
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We have this weird concept of math as a set of steps. Counting to adding/subtracting to multiplying/dividing to pre-algebra to algebra to geometry to trigonometry to calculus. As far as difficulty, once you get to the level of calculus and differential equations, I think you've hit the plateau of difficulty. I think that a lot of people are 'turned off' of math at some point because they assume that everything keeps getting harder, and once you've been in a few calc classes the idea of things getting harder makes your head hurt. I haven't studied formal math beyond calc III/diffEQ. Since then, I've learned a bit about the other areas of math, and now I'm kind of excited to find an opportunity someday to take classes in some of the other areas of math. I'm not sure I'll work on a degree, I may just take them for fun. Number theory, elliptical curves, chaos and fractal geometry, etc. |
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Quoted:
We have this weird concept of math as a set of steps. Counting to adding/subtracting to multiplying/dividing to pre-algebra to algebra to geometry to trigonometry to calculus. As far as difficulty, once you get to the level of calculus and differential equations, I think you've hit the plateau of difficulty. I think that a lot of people are 'turned off' of math at some point because they assume that everything keeps getting harder, and once you've been in a few calc classes the idea of things getting harder makes your head hurt. I haven't studied formal math beyond calc III/diffEQ. Since then, I've learned a bit about the other areas of math, and now I'm kind of excited to find an opportunity someday to take classes in some of the other areas of math. I'm not sure I'll work on a degree, I may just take them for fun. Number theory, elliptical curves, chaos and fractal geometry, etc. I've heard Discreet Math and Abstract Algebra make calculus seem like a cake walk from nearly a dozen people. As for myself, I've taken Calc II, and I'll be taking Calc III this fall. |
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Quoted: I've heard Discreet Math and Abstract Algebra make calculus seem like a cake walk from nearly a dozen people. As for myself, I've taken Calc II, and I'll be taking Calc III this fall. I have heard that they are hard, but not harder than calculus. Hard in a different way. Perhaps that difference makes it substantially harder for some people. I don't know...I suppose I'll find out if I ever get to take the classes I'd like to take! In the calculus series, Calc II was really the hard one for me and everyone I knew in my classes. Calc III was, in comparison, child's play. |
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I've heard different things from different people. I've heard that it peaks at 400/4000 level classes, and that after them the "movement" becomes more lateral. What do you guys think of this? i think the problem is that the math becomes more and more abstract as you go. in grade school you work with math that had immediate application out at your lemonade stand on the front lawn. in high school you work with math that had immediate application when laying out roof trusses or optimizing an economic problem. in undergrad you work with math that had immediate application in PLL design or PID control theory or non-linear systems or cryptology. in graduate school you work with math that you are beginning to have a hard time applying to something other than a proof or conjecture or something that would be exceptionally difficult to explain to anyone not "in your field". the question is where you want to go. ar-jedi |
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Quoted: Quoted: I've heard different things from different people. I've heard that it peaks at 400/4000 level classes, and that after them the "movement" becomes more lateral. What do you guys think of this? i think the problem is that the math becomes more and more abstract as you go. in grade school you work with math that had immediate application out at your lemonade stand on the front lawn. in high school you work with math that had immediate application when laying out roof trusses or optimizing an economic problem. in undergrad you work with math that had immediate application in PLL design or PID control theory or non-linear systems or cryptology. in graduate school you work with math that you are beginning to have a hard time applying to something other than a proof or conjecture or something that would be exceptionally difficult to explain to anyone not "in your field". the question is where you want to go. ar-jedi In graduate school and beyond, you work on math where the applications haven't been invented yet.  |
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Linear algebra was the hardest one of I taken so far 
I dont even know what a subset or subspace is.  Linear Algebra is typically the easiest of the maths after the computational courses. I had no problem with the entire calculus series or differential equations but I simply couldn't maintain my interest during linear algebra when it started going into theory, strange notations, constructing proofs. It was just so boring to me, and the books read like chemistry books instead of math ones. |
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Quoted: Linear Algebra proofs are typically the most boring and tedious proofs of the topics of proofs.Quoted: Quoted: Linear algebra was the hardest one of I taken so far I dont even know what a subset or subspace is. Linear Algebra is typically the easiest of the maths after the computational courses. I had no problem with the entire calculus series or differential equations but I simply couldn't maintain my interest during linear algebra when it started going into theory, strange notations, constructing proofs. It was just so boring to me, and the books read like chemistry books instead of math ones. |
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The one that weirded me out the most was simply called "Applied Algebra" (4000 level - that should tell you something). Algebraic structures, homomorphisms, polya enumeration theory, etc. It eventually did come up with real life application such as ECC correction, but damn if you didn't almost need a dictionary. "For every x element X there exists a unique subset Y such that the mapping blah blah blah". The height of my mathematical knowledge came during "Engineering Mathematics" I think we spend half the semester on the wave equation. I did pretty good in that class, but almost 25 years after the fact I probably couldn't pass Cal I anymore without studying. [ETA] Belay that. I *know* I couldn't pass Calc I without studying. It sucks to think about how much you forget after you graduate and don't use it anymore. |
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Quoted: The one that weirded me out the most was simply called "Applied Algebra" (4000 level - that should tell you something). Algebraic structures, homomorphisms, polya enumeration theory, etc. It eventually did come up with real life application such as ECC correction, but damn if you didn't almost need a dictionary. "For every x element X there exists a unique subset Y such that the mapping blah blah blah". The height of my mathematical knowledge came during "Engineering Mathematics" I think we spend half the semester on the wave equation. I did pretty good in that class, but almost 25 years after the fact I probably couldn't pass Cal I anymore without studying. [ETA] Belay that. I *know* I couldn't pass Calc I without studying. It sucks to think about how much you forget after you graduate and don't use it anymore. At the same time you could probably knock the rust off in an afternoon. I was pretty amazed at how quickly some things came back to me recently. |
