I hate Math, but love Science

[NASAFanboy]

So, I'm a kid who hates math. Really hate math, hate it so much that if you took the force of the hatred and stuck it inside a bomb, the entire inner solar system would get destroyed. But, on the other hand, I love science. I want a career in space science, and I put my life goal in space science, and I would rather do space science than anything else in the world.

Meanwhile, I'm failing math. Failing it hard and bad. For one, I still have no clue what "interpret" means, and fortune disposes on me when on a test (I make mistakes so unbelievably stupid that I sometimes refuse to believe I did it.)

I just do not know why, but on the other hand, I absolutely love calculating inter-planetary transfers and caculating dV, and I love doing space-related math.

I think my brain is a little off. Any help?

[Flixxbeatz]

But mathematics has connections to science...

Anyway, I feel you man.

[Kerbface]

I think it's a similar thing with me (though I don't know how to calculate orbital mechanics, dV etc. yet), math can be interesting but perhaps it just seems to abstract. Maybe you need to be able to see the practical effects for it to interest you, and they have to be interesting practical effects.

[ZedNova]

Haha, same here. I love science but Really hate the math behind it.

[NASAFanboy]

Yeah, nice to find people who are in same boat. I'm Asian, and I think I completely shattered the stereotype.

I wonder what's wrong in my genetics....parents are math geniuses, not that interested in science. I'm failing math class, and have "A+" in Physics.

But we share common ground, everyone in my family is horrid at learning forgien language.

[nyrath]

In college, I got a grade of "D" in Trigonometry. It was boring.

Shortly afterwards, I was trying to create a three dimensional star map. From a cold standing start it only took me about 15 minutes to work from the definition of Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent to deducing the equations for a spherical to rectangular coordinate transform.

The point being, I probably could have aced my Trig class, were it not for the unfortunate fact that abstract Trig is boring but 3D star maps are cool. It is the practical applications that are more exciting.

[Trux]

Mathematics can get pretty boring if you have nothing to apply it too, but use equations and sums for something you are interested in (say science) and it becomes bearable...

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

I was in the same boat at school, I was very good at science, I loved physics and I wanted to be an engineer, but I just couldn't get into maths - I wasn't bad at it, I just found it really boring when it had no context.

I applied to University to do Chemistry & Physics, and as I was registering for courses I discovered this would essentially be Chemistry, Maths and Physics (and the Physics would be pretty much pure maths at first).

So at the last minute (literally) I took the second core Chemistry module instead of Physics and then I filled up the rest of my timetable with Biology modules - which I wasn't even qualified to take since I'd not done any Biology since I was 15. Then I made smalltalk with the director of undergraduate studies as he signed this off, and he didn't really check anything in detail (thank god). The university was slightly pissed off when it found out (UK colleges expect you to study what you apply for), but by then it was the beginning of my second year so fait accompli.

Now I'm writing in this while procrastinating about my PhD application in Directed Protein Evolution...

[Pugspaceprogram]

Everyone has to do things in life they dont like to achieve what they want.

As of today, i can professionally say that you probably don't like math because of perhaps your learning pace or the person that teaches you.

You should probably get one of these sorted out. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU MURDER YOUR TEACHER

[karolus10]

Math and any other subject is harder if you try learn it without knowing the purpose or stuff that this knowledge/skill can do for You.

I failed integrals classes in college 3 times in row before I learn this stuff for good and I hated them as hell, but this hate was part of this failure too .

Bad attitude to subject you want (or "have to") learn can in your mind inflate some difficult obstacle to dimensions of the brick wall.

Bad attitude to subject can be also been induced by way of teaching the subject in school.

Personally I very hated Geography lessons in High School, because I was forced to memorize tons of useless junk, so what I remember about Geography now are stuff like types of crops and their average quantities (data outdated already when I was learning this) produced in every country... seriously, who really need this O_o ?

Also (coming back to math) You can try other Textbooks for your own (and practice !) or try find some people to help you .

Edited May 14, 2013 by karolus10

[AmpsterMan]

At some point I hated math...

and then I liked it.

You sound young, maybe when you grow up a bit you might realize math is actually fun and will be very good at it.

[Randox]

Karolus feels about geography how I do about history. I'd be hard pressed to even give you the start and end dates (or even the years) for both world wars, probably because I couldn't give less of a flying fart about the dates. By contrast, I really enjoyed a course on the history of engineering, where my final paper (remember, in a history course) was on th effectiveness of Gothic and Maximillian full plate armour. Other people have done things such as building miniature versions of the trebuchet, and demonstrating it (which allows you to write a shorter paper).

AS the sciences go, I enjoy the concepts, but not the numbers, so I am mostly hobbiest in that respect. I prefer to have my math in programming, where I can work with math and logic to do things (this would be my chosen career path).

The thing to keep in mind when studying for any given field, is that you are going to take courses you don't enjoy. I suppose the trick is finding a field you are passionate about, where you do enjoy much of what you are studying, and that combined with what comes after makes getting through the necessary evils worth while.

[Specialist290]

Karolus feels about geography how I do about history. I'd be hard pressed to even give you the start and end dates (or even the years) for both world wars, probably because I couldn't give less of a flying fart about the dates. By contrast, I really enjoyed a course on the history of engineering, where my final paper (remember, in a history course) was on th effectiveness of Gothic and Maximillian full plate armour. Other people have done things such as building miniature versions of the trebuchet, and demonstrating it (which allows you to write a shorter paper).

You touch on a point that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when it comes to teaching history: History is not just a list of facts and dates. It's the story of how mankind has struggled against its environment and itself to build the society we have now. It's about the bloody drama. Too much time is spent in classes on rote memorization of "important" facts, and not enough on challenging students to think about why those facts are important.

My B.A. was in History, so I figured I'd put in my two cents on the subject. I think it ties into the general theme of "Abstract education without practical motive is boring and counterproductive."

[LeonG17]

I think I know what you mean. I'm good at GCSE maths but now I've done a A level exam early I found it extremely hard. I'm convinced I'll get a F.

I think that you can easily do the space maths is because you can apply it practically such as calculating the detla V but normal maths is too abstract and you can't apply it to anything. My Physics and recent, forced, A level maths teacher has the same feeling.

[nyrath]

You touch on a point that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when it comes to teaching history: History is not just a list of facts and dates. It's the story of how mankind has struggled against its environment and itself to build the society we have now. It's about the bloody drama. Too much time is spent in classes on rote memorization of "important" facts, and not enough on challenging students to think about why those facts are important."

And as a side note, I will mention noted SF author Ken MacLeod who said "History is the trade secret of science fiction." All the way back to Isaac Asimov, if you want to write about galactic empires, do some cribbing from history.

http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/futurehistory.php#id--Historical_Events

[Crush]

When you learn more about science, you will soon realize that you need to understand math to understand science. But fortunately it is much easier to get a connection to math when you have an actual application. What frustrates students the most, is that math is taught in an abstract way. Most math lessons are just about juggling around numbers and variables without any connection to what they mean and what you get from learning it. But when you have a goal, like "I need to understand integration to understand particle physics", or "I need to understand non-euclidian geometry to understand special relativity", you actually have a reason to learn math which is much more motivating.

That means as long as you are really interested in science, and not just shiny technology which become possible through application science.

I learned a lot about math through game programming. I didn't really get sine and cosine before I programmed a physics simulation and I was never able to wrap my head around matrix multiplication before I had to learn it to program a 3d engine. Now it makes just so much sense.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Crush

[Flymetothemun]

You touch on a point that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when it comes to teaching history: History is not just a list of facts and dates. It's the story of how mankind has struggled against its environment and itself to build the society we have now. It's about the bloody drama. Too much time is spent in classes on rote memorization of "important" facts, and not enough on challenging students to think about why those facts are important.

My B.A. was in History, so I figured I'd put in my two cents on the subject. I think it ties into the general theme of "Abstract education without practical motive is boring and counterproductive."

Yeah, you try to tell a kid who associates history with heavy, bland, boring, and banal textbooks with stale, dry, homogenized writing in times new roman font, no mention of how it connects to everyday life, and crappy, cheesy, bland, and boring websites that said textbooks tell you to go to, and they'll think it's just a list of facts and dates. Not sure if you agree w/ the underlined statement in the quote, but i'm just saying what makes students hate history.

[NASAFanboy]

Yeah, you try to tell a kid who associates history with heavy, bland, boring, and banal textbooks with stale, dry, homogenized writing in times new roman font, no mention of how it connects to everyday life, and crappy, cheesy, bland, and boring websites that said textbooks tell you to go to, and they'll think it's just a list of facts and dates. Not sure if you agree w/ the underlined statement in the quote, but i'm just saying what makes students hate history.

Want to get kids interestd in history? Have them play Call of Duty to learn about WW2

I wish.

[Flymetothemun]

Want to get kids interestd in history? Have them play Call of Duty to learn about WW2

I wish.

Me too. asdasdasd

[Xeldrak]

I would be interested why the OP hates math...

[NASAFanboy]

I would be interested why the OP hates math...

Ok, for one, it is boring. Half the time, the probelms are so common sense, or in situations that do not need math at all in the real world (Come one man, stop computing, JUST DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO!). I have little to no idea on SPECIFIC mathematical skills that would help me, as the teachers would all say "You will need it later in life". Well, I frankly do not care, unless you give me a bunch of SPECIFIC examples, it might as well be false. Also, mathematical probelms are simply....to mainstream and general and abstract. Some probelms completely violate common sense (Look, I really, really do not need 600 apples.), while others, are just....plain and boring.

I saw this rocketry probelm in a math test, and I got it wrong, after I factored in things like drag and wind and gravity. What the heck? Also, what really ticks me off is that all the textbooks teach by examples, which means if there is even a slight change in the probelm format, I'm pretty well screwed. And, its hard for me to learn that way, as I prefer much more straightforward things.

[Nuke]

the reason most people hate math is because schools really suck at teaching it. in high school math was this 1-dimensional abomination where you did a hundred identical problems every day for weeks at a time, and they only got as far as basic geometry and algebra. in the decade after high school, i ended up teaching myself advanced geometry, trig, linear algebra, calculus, etc, on my own, with very little effort. why? well because i kinda had some computer science early on, and it kinda got me into game design as a hobby (starting with simple 2d classic game clones to eventually 3d game engines). i wasnt trying to solve a page full of arbitrary numbers but instead actual problems, like how to draw a line in a framebuffer and how to collision detect a polygon with a ray.

math education is too procedure oriented. they show you the procedure and then give you problems ad nauseum until you get really fast at it. this might have been a good way of doing things prior to the 80s and 90s where calculators became dirt cheap. everyone needed to be able to work with money, so you needed your basic operations down, and the construction, automotive and food service industries needed you to be able to operate on fractions, but in this day and age where everybody practically keeps a computer on their person at all times it doesnt make any sense at all. a boss isnt going to hound you for using a calculator to solve a problem like a math teacher wood because they know it will save time and increase profits. math education should focus more on solving actual, practical, problems instead of the monotonous grind it is today (i dont really think its changed that much since i graduated highschool in 2000).

[Xeldrak]

Well, it seems to me your problem is not math but math class How old are you by the way and what are you doing in math class atm?

It took me years at university to get, that math itself is interesting. You can forget examples, skills that would help me in real life or common sense. Whats the real life application of playing an instrument or beeing able to draw? It's worthwile all by itself. Yeah, I know, this is hard to believe if you are forced to learn the stuff.

Once you get to the math-books they use in universities, you will be longing for examples Math is basically the only field that can proof everything that is claims - and they do, believe me.

By the way - if you realy want a career in space science - you WILL need all this stuff later in life

[Nuke]

dont get me wrong, math is fun, and its taken be 12 years out of highschool to realize it. i do have a crappy 2 year it degree from a diploma mill, but its not worth the paper its written on, i didnt have any math classes to get it either. had i appreciated math more coming out of high school i would have gone for a 4-year engineering degree at an actual university.

[Flixxbeatz]

Hated Math some times, because they tend to go like this:

They give you very easy examples in class and there goes a sudden massive difficulty spike during the quiz and/or exam (and sometimes in the seatwork), to the point that you'll ask yourself: "Did they taught us these things??"

(Picture above is a hyperbolic example of it )