The Lost Tribe

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher- ... 5838873328



Now, it has been a decade since I finished school, but this is interesting because I remember learning about complex numbers, quadratics, calculus - differential and integral, trigonometry etc. And I'm not embarrassed to admit that I have forgotten just about everything that I learnt in maths. Naturally, if you don't use or do something for a long period of time, you forget it.

Would I be inaccurate in saying that this situation would apply to most students after leaving school? Unless you go on to do a statistics or maths course, or engineering, this maths is useless. The majority of people don't use complex numbers.

Which leads me to a seemingly obvious question ... why would you teach this in schools? (I ask this without knowing how the curriculum has changed since I went through it). What's the point? Now sure, we learn problem solving: what do you know? What methods do you apply to solve it? Get your answer. Apply this methodology to any problem you have. But surely there is more engaging problem solving to be had.

I am fully convinced that some brains are not made to understand math ... my never did

I was OK at maths up until year 9 then I bombed out completely. Not sure if it was anything to do with my distaste of my teacher at the time or it just got too complex, probably a little from column A a little from column B. Either way I never use any of that complex stuff in every day life so, meh.

I'm sure there're plenty of situations where I am applying maths learned and not thinking about it (every day algebra and such) but none of that sine, cosine, trigonometry stuff.

Yup bombed out in year 10-was ok with pythagarus and then it started turning too complex. And the fact that we had a bad bad teacher in year 11 just kind of capped off my maths dislike. My most frequent question in maths was how does this relate to real life?

I copped 3% for a major maths exam for spelling my name right probably, enough said of my love for Math. Yet Physics I could see the point.

Fred- I gave up in year 10 as well. Sure, I -could- have put the effort in, but why bother when I could just coast by on Cs, it's not like I ever used any of it after high school anyway.

Where I come from we don't call it "Maths". "Maths" sounds like a particularly disease that leaves important parts of your body rancid and covered in puce spots and makes it hard to pee.

No, we had Algebra 1 & 2, Trig, Calc and Geometry. And they were FUN. All of those delicious little challenges to bend my brain to. All of those problems where the answer was either right or wrong, black or white. Ah, the challenge of using logic to get from A to B and then triumphantly marking the proof with QED.

Nope, I haven't used anything more than algebra since I left school and a little Geometry, but I still have fond memories of the exquisite triumph of correctly solving problems that no one else in my class could do.

That said, all of the personality/standardised tests I have ever taken have told me that 98.3% of the population are less nerdy and more sane than me, so....

My school had 1, 2 and 3 with all these funny names like Algysbra and Triggernometree with stuffed up triangles. I always wanted to know why
A plus b equalled bugger if I know and just because some Einstein says so what if he or she is a congenital liar
Glad you enjoyed the mathematical madness Mae . If 98.3% are saner than you you must be part of the 98.3% saner than me.... Try that one as an algebraic problem.

And you miss out on so much power, truth, and beauty when you give up Maths! It's like giving up on what makes the Universe tick. And you are all fans of speculative fiction.
I may be biased: taught Maths for many years at school and tertiary levels (although Mickey Mouse accounting and marketing statistics in Higher Ed). I've always enjoyed Maths, at school I liked the puzzle aspect, the only subject that you didn't have to learn anything, just do it. Mae I'd have loved to have you in my class.

I can believe you that there's a lot of 'beauty' in maths and that it's fun. Some time ago I was reading a book called 'speed mathematics' which looked at recognising patterns in numbers that made it easier to do relatively complicated maths in your head, which I quite enjoyed (and still do) doing while I swam laps in the pool (I also practise my scales and repertoire in my head, I'm such a nerd, but swimming laps is so boring ...). I think it has to do with the way maths is taught. My hatred of Shakespeare goes back to a single Year 11 English class for a semester in which we analysed Macbeth ... to death, literally.