>Second, calculus, like all math, is easy. Like that’s the point, it’s the science of simple things. That math is competitive and presented as a cryptic challenge is beside the point — it is designed to make it possible for anyone to reason for themselves and solve problems. The sense of impatience and criticism around math is totally unwarranted and isn’t good for anyone.
lol, typical HN answer.
Mathematics is not "easy", it is a niche; some people are good at, some are average, some are bad.
Expecting every person to be able to do math is folly. People will fail. People already fail at memorizing math concepts and literally just applying said concept by plugging the numbers around.
Some people just don't "get" it, I know I don't "get" probability, but is pretty good at other branches of math like group theory and calculus.
To some people, deriving derivatives is basically black magic, but to me it's pretty intuitive.
Thus, if the world economy relies on people being good at probability then I am screwed.
Fortunately for me, the world economy somehow relies on people being good at writing texts on a computer to tell it what to do (programming).
I personally think programming is piss easy (its the actual problem being solved that is hard, programming is just knowing how to knock a hammer)
However, there are people out there that simply can't program, either because they are not interested or not capable.
Perhaps they are good at something else that is not entirely marketable?
Is it wrong to be that way?
Being humble is one thing, but not realizing one's gift is another.
> Being humble is one thing, but not realizing one's gift is another.
Very true, but this doesn't change the fact that math is actually simple, but it is generally taught so badly that most students can't "get" it.
I did a bit of private tutoring back when I was in college (and I'm still doing it for my own children), and every person learns in a different way. It is not always easy to find the right way to convey an idea, but once you find it you can see in the student's eyes how it just clicked.
Totally anecdotal, but I once helped someone who "didn't get how percentages work" get a really high (with respect to her previous attempts) GMAT score in maths.
lol, typical HN answer. Mathematics is not "easy", it is a niche; some people are good at, some are average, some are bad. Expecting every person to be able to do math is folly. People will fail. People already fail at memorizing math concepts and literally just applying said concept by plugging the numbers around. Some people just don't "get" it, I know I don't "get" probability, but is pretty good at other branches of math like group theory and calculus. To some people, deriving derivatives is basically black magic, but to me it's pretty intuitive.
Thus, if the world economy relies on people being good at probability then I am screwed. Fortunately for me, the world economy somehow relies on people being good at writing texts on a computer to tell it what to do (programming). I personally think programming is piss easy (its the actual problem being solved that is hard, programming is just knowing how to knock a hammer) However, there are people out there that simply can't program, either because they are not interested or not capable. Perhaps they are good at something else that is not entirely marketable? Is it wrong to be that way?
Being humble is one thing, but not realizing one's gift is another.