"I want to do calculus with you..."

[protege]

Welp, that's not the direction I thought this thread was going...

You, and about 99.9% of the board members as well

[dalesys]

He needs to remember this when he's older... for a pick-up line.

[mathnerd]

MoonCat, I disagree that you never use the concepts of algebra. Granted you never use them formally, but if you're a functioning adult in today's society, you do use them every single day. Every time you try to figure out if you can afford something, or determine if you need to put gas in your car that day, or take traffic into account when you determine how long you need to get somewhere, among a thousand other every day decisions, you're using the concepts of algebra. I maintain that you've simply developed a mental block based on years of bad teaching that causes anxiety and doesn't allow you to fully process that type of information as "math". I saw this all the time with my lower level college students when I taught that level. It's a matter of getting through those mental brick walls that got built when you were little, not a matter of "math brain" or not.

Chromatix, there's really nothing here to agree or disagree on. It's simple, basic abstract algebra; specifically group theory, which of course builds into ring and field theory. Again, it's a handy "shortcut", but as far as formal mathematics is concerned, neither operation exists as it's own operation. In an effort not to glaze the eyes of the rest of the readers, I'll refrain from going into a math lecture here, but if you're interested, I'd be happy to PM you.

[MoonCat]

Oh, I know there's math involved in some stuff like that, Mathnerd. I just don't think it's a higher operation than the four basics. Example: Can I afford to spend $299 on a computer? Let's say I have $3000 in my checking account and no other bills that have to be paid first. Common sense tells me that yes, I can afford the $299. I use simple subtraction to know how much will be left in the checking account.

And things like traffic are more a matter of knowing the weather conditions, the time of day/week/month/year, and the way that people tend to drive in that area, as well as the experience of how long it took me the last time I took that route (it would be a bus in my case).

When people start talking about calculus, algebra, etc., I have no idea what they're talking about. The problem is not the numbers themselves. It's the formulas you have to use. They don't make sense to me. That's why I always wanted to know WHY I had to do things a specific way to get to the answer. Numbers describe things. I can't make them match up in my head the way I do with words