If you don't like mathematics, why?

[chris11]

Hey, I was just wondering why some people detest mathematics as much as they do. I personally love it. My suspecsion is that most people have a very poor idea of what mathematics is.

 

[Shadowplay]

I respect mathematics because I think it's the closest thing we'll ever come to truth. Like staring God right in the face. The only reason I dislike studying it is because I'm too thick to understand it.

 

[philly2bits]

I've heard some people say that math problems and equations and things like that are almost like reading a story. They can see things like plot and characters and how they intact just like reading a book. They probably love math for that reason.

I only see numbers though.

 

[Rembrandt Broam]

There is true beauty in mathematics.

 

[chris11]

I respect mathematics because I think it's the closest thing we'll ever come to truth. Like staring God right in the face. The only reason I dislike studying it is because I'm too thick to understand it.

You might enjoy the following quote attributed to Keplar (physist): "Mathematics is that language with which God has written the universe."

 

[mads]

Maybe it is because that we dont like what we dont understand

 

[Jake123]

It makes it hurt in my thinky place

 

[Luke1993]

I used to be really good at it then as the years went on it got harder and harder at school! Algebra I think I disliked the most it didn't really make any sense to me (some of it did just the more complex stuff didn't)

 

[userremoved]

I suck at remembering formulas. I also have a hard time doing math in my head, I constantly have to put stuff on paper where I can see it.

 

[diesel]

i hate maths , i mean i HATE maths . its all theory and made up . im not joking , me and maths do not get on even though i was in honour maths i still detested all time spent there ... it might be because im a dreamer by nature and maths is so boring and set with no grey area ( just black and white )

 

[LazyHermitCrab]

the format of math is boring to me. usually, it's just a black and white sheet with a bunch of numbers. wish i could see some interesting story in it..

 

[coyote]

math exists only in the human mind

tigers do not need to calculate their velocity or trajectory before taking down their prey

they simply get hungry, hunt, eat

that is the "language of god"

 

[Waybuloo]

I'm probably not gonna be popular for saying that I enjoyed maths, some of it could be dry though, like the repetition lol. Maths got me the highest results in my high school exams so i'm not complaining. Maths is useful for exercising your brain even though 90% of what I learnt I never had to use after school.

 

[Jake123]

Math is completely man-made when you think about it. We just use math to explain things like how many apples you have if you take away a certain amount of apples. In reality it's just abstract

 

[NickyNacker]

It makes it hurt in my thinky place

Lol THIS. I am so ADD and it literally seems to make my brain hurt. I can't understand it at all. I can understand basic math, but once it goes into things like Algebra I'm lost and despise it. One of the reasons I failed in school.

 

[mrb]

i love maths , it just doesnt love me who needs to add up anyways buy a freaking calculator

 

[chris11]

Yeah. It does seem that it stems from a misunderstanding of mathematics. Mathemstics is not about formulas or numbers--indeed many areas of modern mathematics do not even address numbers. Rather it is about the realtionships between objects that can be known to be true, given a small set of assumptions. Math is also not about drilling yourself in computations, no one cares if you can take the antiderivitive of some function, as that's just trivia.

Yes, pure mathematics is abstraction, which some people happen to love. But why is it so effective at describing reality? Why is it, for instance, that even the purest forms of mathematics end up having some use in describing nature?

 

[CosmicNeurotica]

I used to really enjoy math class in 9th grade. Algebra started getting hard but also fun. I think it was the class I used my brain in the most.
Now though, I don't remember jack lol.

 

[awkwardamanda]

I love math! I majored in math actually. I'm such a nerd but that's alright. I'm no genius though. Sometimes it was a struggle, but then, I don't think I reached my potential because I was constantly tired and stressed out and miserable. Maybe if I was, ya know, "normal" or something like that, I would have done well in school and not just so-so. And I disagree with those of you who say math is black and white. Sometimes there's one right answer and one way to get there. But, such is not always the case. Often there are quite a few different ways to approach a problem, any of which will end up at the same answer. It gets more grey when you get into real world applications. There can be many ways to represent or approximate the same situation, and different approaches may be better than others for a variety of reasons. But I think a lot of people dislike math because they just don't think that way. Same reason I don't like analyzing a novel. My brain just doesn't work that way. People often think they'll never use the math they learn in school. The truth is, math is everywhere. Even if you aren't making direct use of it, it's cleverly disguised in everything you do. Every time you turn on your computer, cross a bridge, ride an elevator, flick a light switch, or take a bite out of a slice of cake, know that plenty of math went into it. Whether it be a simple measurement, or complicated calculus, it's in there somewhere. And so, I ask that we all make an effort to give math the respect that it deserves.

 

[chris11]

I love math! I majored in math actually. I'm such a nerd but that's alright. I'm no genius though. Sometimes it was a struggle, but then, I don't think I reached my potential because I was constantly tired and stressed out and miserable. Maybe if I was, ya know, "normal" or something like that, I would have done well in school and not just so-so. And I disagree with those of you who say math is black and white. Sometimes there's one right answer and one way to get there. But, such is not always the case. Often there are quite a few different ways to approach a problem, any of which will end up at the same answer. It gets more grey when you get into real world applications. There can be many ways to represent or approximate the same situation, and different approaches may be better than others for a variety of reasons. But I think a lot of people dislike math because they just don't think that way. Same reason I don't like analyzing a novel. My brain just doesn't work that way. People often think they'll never use the math they learn in school. The truth is, math is everywhere. Even if you aren't making direct use of it, it's cleverly disguised in everything you do. Every time you turn on your computer, cross a bridge, ride an elevator, flick a light switch, or take a bite out of a slice of cake, know that plenty of math went into it. Whether it be a simple measurement, or complicated calculus, it's in there somewhere. And so, I ask that we all make an effort to give math the respect that it deserves.

Yay! I am not alone! lol. I haven't actuallly graduated yet, but I'm majoring in math as well. My plan is to go to waterloo for graduate school once I finish up my BSc. I want to specialize in algebraic topology