Again, I'm no expert but have found this book to be rather intriguing and well written for the layperson. Some history and practical examples but some of the theorems and proofs are beyond me.
Help with Mathematical Concepts, Not Arithmetic
by Band on the Run 101 Replies latest jw friends
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simon17
Not only that, but I learned more about math through physics than I learned about math from taking math.
Although this may seem true, unfortunately a lot of the boring fundamentals (your arithmatic your algebra your equation solving principles etc) were learned in those math classes or else you wouldn't have appreciated the physics nearly as much. The tricky part about early math is that almost all of the most fascinating applications involve a lot more math than the students are possibly ready for. But you are right that physics is just a glorious subject in applied math.
As they say: Biology is really chemistry. Chemistry is really physics. And Physics is really math.
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Quendi
@ Farkel: I was laughing with you, my friend, not growling at you when I talked about "pontificating". And I got a big laugh out of your explanation to solving equations. It's practically identical to what I told my students except I used balancing scales in place of the more colurful "bullshit". I've enjoyed what you have shared with us on this thread (and elsewhere) as well.
Also, you'd probably appreciate this experience. One of the wonderful friends I made at CU got his PhD in Applied Mathematics. When I asked him how his intellectual journey began, he said, "I started out as a physics student because it was so hands-on and you could see the mathematics at work."
I've always thought of mathematics and physics as brothers or first cousins, and as I said earlier, my own favorite branch of physics is celestial mechanics.
@ simon17: I liked what you said about physics and applied math being interrelated and interconnected. What's interesting to me about that is what happened at CU a few years before I enrolled. The mathematicians at the University were having much internal dissension about the direction they wanted to take the Mathematics Department. Eventually their disagreements resulted in all out civil war which led to the creation of the Applied Mathematics Department under the aegis of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Mathematics remained firmly in the College of Arts and Sciences.
I was the first student ever at CU to major in both Geography and Mathematics and I came within an eyelash of getting a minor in Applied Mathematics as well. What a journey that was, one for which I'll be forever grateful that I took. What really intrigued me was the vastly different approach the two Math departments took to teaching even the same subjects. Learning Linear Algebra in the Math department was a completely different experience from learning it in Applied Mathematics. The same was true for Differential Equations. I was singularly fortunate in my college education.
My friends, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this discussion! It has revived many, many pleasant memories and recalled some wonderful experiences I had as a "non-traditional student" at the University of Colorado. I saw you are never too old to learn, and that the intergenerational interactions I had were overwhelmingly positive. I made friendships with students, graduate students and professors that are still strong down to this day and my life was enriched beyond measure.
The organization's hatred and contempt for higher education is one of its greatest crimes. They have stunted and stymied so many Witnesses with their retrograde thinking that there is nothing in this life worth pursuing unless it is their own narrow-minded and self-limiting goals. I'm glad I didn't listen to that talk when I was a Witness, and looking back on it all now, my college education played a big role in my decision to never set foot in a kingdom hall again.
Quendi
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simon17
my college education played a big role in my decision to never set foot in a kingdom hall again.
Of course that is maybe the biggest thing you can get out of mathematics, probably moreso than most of it not all other disciplines. You do not accept something that is told to you. You must prove it. Everything must build on top of proven things for you to be able to accept it. It sounds like you were fascinated with doing this in Analysis. I, for my part, hated analysis, but in the end the lesson is valuable and unmistakeable. You simply cannot accept the WT world as it is given if your mind is mathematically (or probably just scientifically) trained.
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james_woods
Somehow, Qendia, I think she will somehow understand it.
8 +13 = ?
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Band on the Run
I did well in arithmetic. My big problem was when Newark, NJ strapped for cash in the 1960s introduced what was called "the new math." Our parents could compensate for what we did not learn in school until "new math." Yes, I was such a nerd even then that I purchased a study book with my allowance money. Only no texts existed yet. The teacher was in her very first year of teaching. It created a perfect storm.
We also studied "new biology" and "new chemistry." My brother was drawn to science and started University of Chicago, intending to major in BIology or Chemistry. After years of study, he could not do the intro courses. The Advanced Placement test did not cover what we were taught. NO suburban kids or Catholic school kids learned whatever we were learning. I did get some revenge later when most of the Board of Ed members and administration were sent to prison. Finally, New Jersey took over the system.
OT- For years I would not return to Newark b/c even in my area was so unsafe. My friends' homes were dynamited. Gun violence was bad in the center of the commercial district. I wanted a tank to see my family home. Recently, a high school classmate and I chanced on the theory there was safety in numbers. After rapidly declining for decades, the city truly has a renaissance. Entire areas now have middle class neighborhoods. It was nice to see.
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Justitia Themis
...not sure why it double-posted.
Maybe you pushed the button twice.
LOL! Allow me to phrase it so that you can understand James. I am not sure why it double-posed because it seemed like I clicked submit only once.
Funny thing though...I have seen others post similar sentiments numerous times, yet you never felt the need to respond to them...hhmmm....
Back on topic...BOTR, everyone has provided great book recommendations, but you might consider buying one of the SAT prep manuals just to dust off the math brain cells.
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00DAD
OK, I've scanned this thread and can't find it. Did BOTR or anyone else ever mention specifically what is the "classic math text" alluded to in TGWTDT?
BOTR: My summer reading this year is finishing The Girl with The Dragon Tatooseries. The author refers to a classic math text.
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bohm
I think the problem discussed in the book was fermats last theorem, one of the protagonists supposedly solved it.
Someone else need to explain it, the margin of my ipad is to cumbersome to write in
More on topic, the book called fermats last theorem is in my oppinion a good book on the historical development in math.
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Quendi
It turns out there are many fictional works that feature mathematics. Arthur C. Clarke’s The Last Theorem is wonderful. As bohm mentions, it revolves around the famous problem posed by Pierre de Fermat in 1637. The theorem’s proof was finally presented by Andrew Wiles in 1995. Clarke’s book is about a mathematician who proves the theorem using the mathematics that was known in Fermat’s day. My personal math fiction favorites are Isaac Asimov’s classic Foundation series; Larry Niven’s delicious short story “Convergent Series” which is hilarious as well as entertaining and can be found in Rudy Rucker's short story anthology Mathenauts; and the late Sherman Hemsley and Ron Glass in a Twilight Zone vignette called “I of Newton” which can be viewed here:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/humour/213812/1/I-Of-Newton
The episode’s mathematical theme works very nicely spiced as it is with plenty of sight gags and solid acting by Hemsley and Glass.
Quendi