Math - can means can? cannot means cannot?

last SG · 2006-08-20T02:24:46+00:00

same! for my year more than half failed their sec 2 maths very badly.. and our maths teacher said she'll go back to the basics with us.. gg thru the whys an...

the Bear SG

well, this is one of the things that has been bugging me.. people who say they "cannot do math" and people who "can do math"

i've always thought math, all you needed to do for the level we do, is to look at the problem with a different perspective... and to use the different types of tools to solve it..

all you need is a good teacher to show the way and light the path...

those who "say they cannot" (note the quotation marks) seem to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to convince others they cannot.. instead of using the imagination and effort into understanding the problem and finding ways to solve it... i wager, if you did use the time and effort towards the problem, you'd solve it.. and from there, build on it and the mind becomes more adept at mathematical stuff...

before the flamethrowers come out, here's the deal of why i say these things:

i could not.. but someone taught me to be imaginative and to go for it.. and showed me the way... and yes, i saw.. and saw that (our level) math isn't that difficult.. all it took was a different perspective, and effort with the will to do it.. you can..

my sister too.. there was once i broke an equation into 17 colour-coded lines for her when it could be done in 3 lines.. she could not at that time because she refused to see it... trying more to convince me that she could not.. but ultimately, she scored A1 for her E-Math and passed her AO Math..

so... what do you think? i don't believe "cannot means cannot" while the person shows so much creativity, effort and will just to show that he cannot Laughing

(p.s. this does not mean the insanely complex math required for stuff like Fermat, Goldbach or Riemann Hypothesis )

laurence82 SG

I cannot do math

I can only count profits and how much I ripped off that poor fella.

Mr. Green

Ito_^ SG

cannot means cannot!

the Bear SG

prove it Twisted Evil

Cenarious SG

find me a good teacher to show the way and light the path

Manager433 SG

Cannot means cannot. I score a F9 for my O lvl E-Math. But I score a distinction for my ITE 'Math' electrical subjects. MAybe due to a better instructors ( teachers ).

Embarassed

Ito_^ SG

i always get stumped with primary 6 math!!

Pitot SG

Its want or not.

CoolMyth SG

It's more like the aptitude for it.

There's a part in the brain that handles numbers and stuff, similar to how we learn languages etc.

I do believe if a person does not have the aptitude for it, it's really hard for him to be genius in it. Though I must add that that person shall not be left alone, but peharps to help him as far as possible. Wink

the Bear SG

thing is: i'm not talking about genius.. not everyone can be Gauss or Euler... but basic calculus and the use of it.. that's a very powerful tool..

to change one side of the equation, you have to change the other side...

keep hacking at the problem... look at it from a different point of view...

don't just use one way to do stuff... sort of like, 2 dimensional vectors can be solved by using complex numbers... stuff like that...

can one..

ShrodingersCat SG

-scratch head-

Comparatively, I am a 'typical' arts student, i.e. much better at my humanities than maths. E Maths was interesting cos.. well its really APPLICATION, but I began to find A maths confusing cos of the formulas. Like you said, thanks to a very GOOD tuition teacher, I manage to do ok for both subjects, so a good teacher really helps. So trigo and calculus is OKAY but if you talk about differentiation and integration... I am boggled.

But I tell you hor.. I remember before O levels A maths exams, I sat outside my door and cried, feeling so helpless and worried.

... but when I tried Maths C in JC.. I found it way beyond my grasp. I could not understand what the teacher was saying and struggled constantly. It doesn't help that teachers propagate the stereotype that arts students are not good at it. (I had a teacher told us not to waste her time and our time and drop Maths C in JC. Eventually I did. My friends told me of another teacher who told them to drop A maths cos they would all fail anyway).

I think for most people, the problem they have with maths is

1. Teacher
2. Understanding of concept
3. Memory. Can't remember the formulas.
4. Application. Can't remember which formulas for what.
5. Carelessness.
6. Lack of confidence.

ShrodingersCat SG

interestingly.. to share.. when i teach my kids... their mental age is about 4-6...

some really has difficulty understand basic concepts such as number value and numbers - so counting for them is a really difficult thing to do. BUT same student has comparatively much better skills in social, and communication.

So... it may be possible that.. ya! It is not CANNOT to do maths, but simply that for some it is a much more difficult task than others.

stellazio SG

by can it means at least a passing grade or A1?

by cannot means fail, or C6 still means cannot? Laughing

BufPuf SG

some people jsut don't understand
no matter how simple u put it..

i have this classmate
who can't even understand why

25/4x in the first line of equation
can become 6.25x in the second line of the equation

some questions they ask are so ridiculous
i wonder they really don't use their head or they are too lazy to find out why

Chelzea SG

memory?arts student have to memorise much more crap rite in hist n geog Laughing

the Bear SG

it is not an easy thing.. goodness knows i struggled in the transition between primary school math and secondary school math.. that's where i was stuck...

but maybe i was stubborn and with the help of a good teacher, i kinda broke through.. and started getting into the swing of things... mostly, i understood why i was doing what i was doing..

after the "why" part was done, the "how" came because i kinda figured out the rationale of the "formulae"

okay.. i'm old and decrepit.. but i remembered long ago that a list of formulae was given to us during the exams.. it was the application of the formulae which the testers wanted... and with that, our understanding of the concepts...

i guess once the concepts are understood, the rationale behind the methods, you can tackle the questions...

and more than that, it would be great if one can bring those concepts into real life... btw, i get strange looks when i use algebra to solve some things at work Laughing

missqi SG

I got B3 for both E n A Math.
Till now I still don't know whether I can or cannot do Math.
I think the basic Math taught in JCs and secondary schools just need practice.
A hell lot.
Because I see people who aren't smart but hardworking scoring As for math ALL THE TIME.
Confused

ShrodingersCat SG

Those are stories. Stories are easier to remember than..

3x^93027=x/439072 *ABC or something.

the Bear SG

ahhh... but you don't need to remember that Wink

you just work with the numbers.. and with numbers, the calculator is there for you..

math was never about brute force number crunching... that's done with the abacus, the clackers, the difference engines, and now, the computers...

it has always been the manipulation of numbers and variables Wink

btw, it's not really about grades.. Wink

ShrodingersCat SG

yes u doooo.. i remember always forgetting my formulas..

I think bottomline is.. Do you LIKE or do you not LIKE maths over the other subjects? Afterall time is ... not a limitless commodity.... Sad
.. there's so many things fighting for our attention.... ... lit, art, history, boys.