Why is math such a hated and infamous subject?

I've always liked math, it was my favorite subject in school so I decided to major in it in college. I was a tutor for a brief time and I found it really difficult to explain math to people who didn't quite get it mainly because there's so many different ways to come to the same answer and sometimes the way you explain it is not exactly the best way for them to learn it...so there could be another way that's easier for them. I personally feel that everyone could do math it's just a matter of finding the best method for the person.

Man I hated maths, fractions and decimals used to make me cry when I was at school. I was asked in work the other day to work out and add on a margin on an order myself, I had to get help :'(

I feel like math, like any subject really, is just one of those things where you pick it up easily or you don't.

I was pretty good with math growing up until about high school when I really started to lose interest in it. It has never helped that in my entire life, I've had two math classes (one in high school, one in college) that were not morning classes that started no later than 8 a.m. I even hypothesized with one of my math teachers that the gene that makes math easy for you is connected to the same gene that makes you naturally inclined to be a morning person.

I was exceptionally good at maths throughout all of high school (I excelled in all my STEM courses). My first year university, I did a Calcukus 1 which was mostly a review of what I did in HS. Problem was the final was 75% of the grade and the other work was either ridiculously easy and didn't enforce anything or insanely hard (counted for little of the grade). Plus morning class.

When I was diagnosed with dyspraxia the expert who was running my tests said that I probably had dyscalculia, but that it is very hard to diagnose formally, because it could just be I was just taught badly at school, or forgot some basic techniques. Still, I'd say I I'm dyscalculic. Maths has never clicked with me, and it was a struggle of mine in school.

I swear, getting that C grade in Maths at the end of GCSE was like getting my A in other subjects. I was always hovering around the C/D borderline, and I got put in for special classes to get boost me up. In the end, they put me in for both the modular and linear papers just so I could pass one of them, but thankfully I got a C in both. 4 points above the borderline, but you know.

I sucked at it, and people don't usually like things that make them feel stupid.

The percentage of minds that understand anything beyond calculus is very minute. I believe that a large part of the reason that so few take an interest in it is that the content of nearly every other course is open to "interpretation", where mathematics (in general) are not.

This thread is my favorite thread ever. I am currently getting my Masters in Mathematics, and I love it. There are some misunderstandings though. For example, while calculus is a very important area of math, it is just one of many areas of math that you can go into. another direction is Linear Algebra, which is a lot of work with matrices. And one use of matrices is 3d animation. If you look at a 3d shape as a set of points, then matrix multiplication will tell you how it will look as you spin it around.

The funny thing though is everyone thinks math is cold and hard, 2+2=4 and there is no question. But math is really setting up a scenario where you can make up the rules, but then you have to follow them. So if I'm working is a set of numbers where I specifically define 2+2 to be 0, then I can figure out other properties from there. I'm simplifying a lot of this because it gets really weird. If you have any questions about math, I'm happy to talk about it. :)

Now I'm tempted to show you what my homework looks like, just to see your reactions. :bigsmile:

".999...=1", or ".999...<1". Where do you fall in the spectrum of "believers", or "skeptics"?

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Originally Posted by qwertysaur

This thread is my favorite thread ever. I am currently getting my Masters in Mathematics, and I love it. There are some misunderstandings though. For example, while calculus is a very important area of math, it is just one of many areas of math that you can go into. another direction is Linear Algebra, which is a lot of work with matrices. And one use of matrices is 3d animation. If you look at a 3d shape as a set of points, then matrix multiplication will tell you how it will look as you spin it around.

The funny thing though is everyone thinks math is cold and hard, 2+2=4 and there is no question. But math is really setting up a scenario where you can make up the rules, but then you have to follow them. So if I'm working is a set of numbers where I specifically define 2+2 to be 0, then I can figure out other properties from there. I'm simplifying a lot of this because it gets really weird. If you have any questions about math, I'm happy to talk about it. :)

Now I'm tempted to show you what my homework looks like, just to see your reactions. :bigsmile:

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I dont have pictures of my homework I had but this was some probability notes I had...I hated the subject but I loved any kind of algebra they threw at me lol good luck in getting your masters!
https://www.instagram.com/p/RGwAzNmBCf/

I believe that one major reason why people are intimidated by math could actually be the fact that some math geeks are horrendously arrogant and condescending;
I see this kind of behaviour on math videos on YouTube all the time, and it's usually something like "lol it's easy, who cannot solve this?!", "what morons couldn't solve this?! I solved it in one minute" and other crap like that.
I find this kind of behaviour completely unacceptable, and I regularly argue with them and try to teach them some normal manners, like for example respecting those who find math difficult and trying to understand them, and possibly even teaching them math, step by step.
That's what I have done to people who have got stuck in Algebra because they didn't grasp certain things in Arithmetic, and that's a hell of a lot more rewarding for everyone involved.
And I would say that that's a much smarter decision than just acting like some arrogant prick and making fun of those who struggle with math.