^^ you guys must have had bad math teachers

my math teacher taught us calculus with the help of slinkies and bach's music-- makes no sense in retrospect, but sure was entertaining.

i used to love math-- learning it felt like getting the key to the universe. i'd dream of equations. a pity i haven't used it in a long time but sure was fun to learn it.


break out the slinkies, profe!


without leibniz there'd be no candide, which is one of the funniest books in the universe (and it makes fun of him).

just... the whole concept. i'ma send you a pm tomorrow when i'm at the library again before work. much appreciated!

i had fantastic math teachers in high school (and a shitty social choice math professor at fiu but that class had 350 people so it was just a slurry of badness all around) but stats/logic/probability stuff comes way easier to me anyways.

hah, okay, leibniz can stay for candide. but that's all.

so schizo im wondering wtf do you need calculus for? aren't you in writing/communications/something? how can that be a prerequisite for you for anything?

I was thinking the same shit, but i often wonder if anyone aside from sadists need calculus ;)

I actually really liked logic but its not really maths, and my discipline is history and social science so breaking down the coherence of written and rhetorical arguments and statements in mathematical concepts is something i enjoy

i need a math and science credit to get my associates finally, and i already have a stats credit. so i'm taking the credit-by-exam for calculus because that's the only one offered, and i can't take a class because of the money i owe. so i'm stuck taking this calc exam.

i love logic and the arguments/etc and symbols. i was decent at it, and my professor helped. just if this, then that. that made sense to me.

ahhhhh. well if that's your ticket to paradise you have no choice but to learn to love it too. forget about what calculus is not. you can enjoy what is though-- there's real beauty in it. if you complain and listen to complaints your hate will only increase, confirmation bias will set in, your mind will close, and you'll just suffer more. but why suffer?

calculus is a way to count what it can't be counted. it's beautiful! in the case of dfferential calculus, it boils down to dividing 0/0. really. integral calculus is about mutiplying ∞ x 0. that's it really. fun stuff when you realize the problem that it solves-- it measures things that couldn't really be measured otherwise. it's used for all sorts of things from airspace technology to pharmacology, and without it we wouldn't be able to deal with anything with any technology where change happens. calculus is fucking gorgeous.

at the core of it is the problem of limits. how deal with things when they approach zero, or infinite. i'd suggest before you look at calculus, look at limits, and read up on infinitesimals..

there's this stupid joke i like. a mathematician and an engineer want to kiss a girl (that's the version i heard anyway, you can adapt to a less sexist/more updated version). the mathematician approaches halfway. then he approaches halfway again. then half of that. then again half of that distance, etc. he keeps getting closer and closer but never reaches her and concludes he can't kiss her. the engineer on the other hand only need to get as close as needed for all practical purposes. ha ha ha ha.

anyway that mathematician is just another version of zeno's paradox (aka achilles and the turtle), which is one of our earliest ideas about limits-- where things approach when they can't really get there. calculus starts from that.

in differential calculus for example you want to measure the slope of a function.

so in geometry you want to measure the gradient of a straight line you construct a rigt-angled triangle. you take the height and length and divide them and you get the ratio your slope. yes? for x that you move in the horizontal you increase y in the vertical. simple. used all the time in carpentry and construction and all that. the gradient.



but what when it's not a straight line? what if it's a curve? in each point of this curve the slope is different, yes? how do you measure the slope at each point?



to make a long story short-- in order to measure the slope (aka rate of change) at a curve, you take a tiny triangle that gets close to the curve. well that's not close enough to so make the triangle smaller. and smaller. and smaller. until the height and the length of your base approach zero. but you can't divide 0/0 yes? well, calculus sort of figures out how to approach close enough for all practical purposes, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

anyway, if you think about it-- the derivative (gradient) of a function is also a function. and the relationship between a function and its derivative can be really a thing of beauty.



anyway, speaking of functions. how is your algebra? because maybe it's algebra and not calculus that's giving you a hard time. i'd say check your algebra first and then calculus will come easy. won't hurt to review geometry and a little bit of trig first. trig palin.

alright you. best wishes. this can be fun.

schizoooooo! mira:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math

(...aaaaaaaaand you probably already knew that. but just in case.)

also wolframalpha! That site helps a ton.

http://lerevelateur.org/

has anyone seen any performances by these cats? They'll be here next week. I'm thinking date night...I was just wondering if there's any negative reviews or whatnot.

I've spent the past three months in intensive therapy. I resolved my issues and I am no longer a pedophile. I am free to roam the streets and the city is safe.

i'm trying to move my test date to november. tomorrow is straight studying all day for me.

Meanwhile....

I'v been harboring a lot of anger lately. I'm trying not to let it get the better of me

maybe your boundaries are being crossed without your permission

or maybe you're saying yes when you want to say no--giving permission when you don't really want to

maybe the anger is just trying to let you know about something like that, and you can perhaps be more aware to prevent these situations.

sounds like you're controlling your reactions when violations have already happened

maybe my speculations are completely off the mark and complete bullshit, but if not then i hope they're somehow helpful



ps- you're a much better person than me. i am quick to anger-- too quick sometimes. this in some occasions keeps the bullshit away, but other times it just conjures it out of thin air.

the calculus is chugging along, finally. still not totally sure what's going on. got a vacation in st augustine in two weeks, too. october = a okay with me.

That is the flaw the higher order maths.. people understand how to do the mechanics without necessarily understand the underlying principles just like a lot of auto mechanics can fix a car without having to understand the principles of physics and geometry underlying how a car works.

Its why common core is emphasizing students learn how to explain the rationales behind their math work and also be able to reflect in writing about what they are doing, why they are doing it, ans importantly and perhaps the most challenging is to explain the process of how they learned it.

yeah, having never taken pre-calc and only a half semester of trig, just all of the concept is totally gone on me