Math Is Fun Forum

bit-eater

Member

Registered: 2013-07-01

Posts: 2

Saying hi with a few questions

Hi, everyone.  I got drawn into the site by the Boxup puzzle game, and now I'm signed up on another forum.  Cool site.

I'm here to learn.  I have been out of school for quite a few years, and I never got further than high school algebra in math.  I wasn't particularly good at it, either.  I never had too much trouble understanding concepts in math, but I did have trouble with written language and notation used to describe math.  I can expand on that if needed.  Also, I feel like I didn't understand what is interesting about math concepts, how to play with them on my own, and how they can be applied in solving concrete problems.  In other words, I feel like I learned how to do the mechanics without knowing how to do anything interesting with the concepts.  Maybe it was me being a dense kid, or maybe it was how I was taught.   

I'm looking to get a good overview of what the major branches of math are about, relearn the basic stuff that I have long forgotten, and  try to kindle my general interest in math.  I have been browsing Wikipedia for math topics, which is somewhat helpful.  Looking at some old texts and thumbing through some new ones, it seems that textbooks in general aim to teach mechanics without much enlightenment into mathematical thinking.  As I said, I never got very far in math, and for all that I know, that stuff comes later.  But it seems to me that learning math would be much more interesting from the get go if the instruction was geared toward thinking mathematically, rather than 'plug and chug'. 

So, hi again, that's my spill, and I'm open to any words of wisdom.

Last edited by bit-eater (2013-07-01 09:20:25)

ShivamS

Member

Registered: 2011-02-07

Posts: 3,648

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

Welcome to the community and a nice introduction. You should try MIF or Khan acad for great tutorials.

Bob

Administrator

Registered: 2010-06-20

Posts: 10,621

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

hi bit-eater

Welcome to the forum.

Maths is such a wide field.  Where do you want to start?

Bob

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Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything;  you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you!  …………….Bob

anonimnystefy

Real Member

From: Harlan's World

Registered: 2011-05-23

Posts: 16,049

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

Hi bit-eater

Welcome to the forum!

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“Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.

bit-eater

Member

Registered: 2013-07-01

Posts: 2

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

hi bit-eater

Welcome to the forum.

Maths is such a wide field.  Where do you want to start?

Bob

That is a big question.  I don't know where to start, given the variety of things that I'm interested in.  One of my interests is computers.  Maybe you're familiar with Linux and GNU?  In Linux, there is the GNU toolset, which is a general set of software tools which can be used as modular filters and functions for working upon data in general to solve problems and do interesting things.  I want to have an understanding of what tools are available in math, and be able to pick and choose a set of math tools for solving problems and doing things that are interesting to me, whatever my interest is at the moment.  I want to understand how those tools work so that I can approach a variety of problems, being able to analyze those problems, and coming up with solutions that work and aren't too clunky.

Also, I'm interested in how patterns reoccur in nature and nature's designs.

I want a mental toolset to use for general inquiry, play, and problem solving.  I wonder where I should start.    Also, I sometimes recognize familiar patterns in general problems, which I would like to be able to abstract, so that when I see the pattern come up in a different area of interest, I know how to relate it and deal with it. 

Hopefully this doesn't read like a bunch of mushy babble.

Last edited by bit-eater (2013-07-01 10:23:27)

bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

Hi bit-eater;

Welcome to the forum. That is a lot of ground to cover. Most of that I am still grappling with and I have been doing math for over a century.

Try the MIF pages right here and post a specific problem you are having if you can.

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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.

Amartyanil

Member

From: Universe

Registered: 2013-05-27

Posts: 82

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

Hi bit-eater;

Welcome to the forum.

Amartyanil

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"Every place is the center of the universe. And every moment is the most important moment. And everything is the meaning of life." ~ Dan Harmon

{7/3}

Member

Registered: 2013-02-11

Posts: 210

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

hi bit-eater
welcome to the forum

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There are 10 kinds of people in the world,people who understand binary and people who don't.

Bob

Administrator

Registered: 2010-06-20

Posts: 10,621

Re: Saying hi with a few questions

Also, I'm interested in how patterns reoccur in nature and nature's designs.

That's one I can enthuse about.

Try

http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/natur … nacci.html

Bob

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Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything;  you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you!  …………….Bob