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#1 2016-07-01 05:11:20

sisyphus
Member
Registered: 2016-05-15
Posts: 26

How to love the M?

Did you always love math and if not, how did you come to love it?

I have a new found interest in math (used to hate it), but i feel like i still have to drag myself to meet my self set minimal quota of an hour per day (though i often get frustrated with some exercise and then spend the next 5 hours trying to understand it). I would love nothing more than to spend whole days sitting there, doing exercises, being fascinated with new concepts and ideas, but i feel like i get fatigued pretty fast. Looking at the 10000 hour rule, and how it's author came to that number, it seems like those who are the masters of their craft like nothing more than to constantly do that one thing, bordering on levels of autism. So that leaves me contemplating, if one does not reach anything near that level of enthusiasm, is it just an exercise in futility? Is there some mythical math cupid that could shoot an arrow up my math ars*?

Last edited by sisyphus (2016-07-01 05:13:07)

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#2 2016-07-01 05:18:46

Monox D. I-Fly
Member
From: Indonesia
Registered: 2015-12-02
Posts: 2,000

Re: How to love the M?

I always love math, and that's because math is not much different from gaming: When we are faced by a problem we can't solve, we can just try another method.


Actually I never watch Star Wars and not interested in it anyway, but I choose a Yoda card as my avatar in honor of our great friend bobbym who has passed away.
May his adventurous soul rest in peace at heaven.

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#3 2016-07-03 11:02:30

bobbym
bumpkin
From: Bumpkinland
Registered: 2009-04-12
Posts: 109,606

Re: How to love the M?

Looking at the 10000 hour rule, and how it's author came to that number, it seems like those who are the masters of their craft like nothing more than to constantly do that one thing, bordering on levels of autism. So that leaves me contemplating, if one does not reach anything near that level of enthusiasm, is it just an exercise in futility? Is there some mythical math cupid that could shoot an arrow up my math ars*?

Hmmm, you know that rule. It is a reliable indicator but it is two faced. They say in pool you must hit a million balls, this only measures your determination to succeed. The wise men of the past understood that a human that truly puts all of himself into some discipline will definitely master it. This has only a few exceptions.

You only need a much smaller amount of knowledge than desire to use it. Perhaps you have not found the part of math that brings you joy. Once you do, you will make fast progress. Now mind you, we can not all be Isaac Newton, but we all can do math.

The exceptions:

1) Bumpkins can not do math.

2) People who suffer massive head trauma like taking a direct hit in the head from a mortar shell will find math difficult.


In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

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#4 2016-07-04 22:15:12

sisyphus
Member
Registered: 2016-05-15
Posts: 26

Re: How to love the M?

bobbym wrote:

Hmmm, you know that rule. It is a reliable indicator but it is two faced. They say in pool you must hit a million balls, this only measures your determination to succeed. The wise men of the past understood that a human that truly puts all of himself into some discipline will definitely master it. This has only a few exceptions.

You only need a much smaller amount of knowledge than desire to use it. Perhaps you have not found the part of math that brings you joy. Once you do, you will make fast progress. Now mind you, we can not all be Isaac Newton, but we all can do math.

I definitely have moments where i really enjoy solving math problems and i can sometimes get a glimpse of how beautiful it can be, but most of the time i'm struggling with being frustrated and end up in throwing a tantrum. When i encounter a new subject it just seems like a steep wall that extends towards further than the eye can see. I would just love to get a quick peek at someones mind who really enjoys it and how they proceed in situation where they encounter something very challenging in math. And even if the going is good and i understand the exercises pretty well, i still get fatigued much faster than i would like to. It would be really interesting to experience a zen like state where one could push aside all other matters of the mind and just delve straight into pure mathematics for a day or two.

bobbym wrote:

The exceptions:

1) Bumpkins can not do math.

2) People who suffer massive head trauma like taking a direct hit in the head from a mortar shell will find math difficult.

I'm not a native speaker, what do you mean by "bumpkin"? Is this a metaphor for something else?

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#5 2016-07-05 04:49:43

bobbym
bumpkin
From: Bumpkinland
Registered: 2009-04-12
Posts: 109,606

Re: How to love the M?

I am the bumpkin who took a mortar shell to the head in the battle for Brooklyn. It is said that about 5 ounces of grey epoxy type matter leaked out of my head and the birds were playing in it. Although I suvived, that grey epoxy like substance was obviously the part of the brain that does math. This was actually a blessing in disguise. I wonder where those birds are right now...

To achieve a zen like state one must be detached about the outcome. You are not detached.

And even if the going is good and i understand the exercises pretty well, i still get fatigued much faster than i would like to.

Your math muscles are not yet developed enough to have more stamina, this will come in time.

I would just love to get a quick peek at someones mind who really enjoys it and how they proceed in situation where they encounter something very challenging in math

They suffer the same as you do. We are driven by passion and ego. This is what allows us to go past the pain and suffering and to a solution. If you have the desire and have an ego that slightly exceeds your true capabilities nothing will stop you except karma.

When i encounter a new subject it just seems like a steep wall that extends towards further than the eye can see.

I have had similar feelings, like I was stepping off the dry land and heading out on the ocean to hopefully someplace better. All I could see in front of me was more water and not a hint of dry land...


In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.

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