Why don't you like Mathematics ?
- Thread starter Alwin
- Start date
Dhatura
New Metal Member
Ffs, I argued on the basis of what you said in Post #5, now are you or are you not the voice of authority here?
On invention and discovery
Announcing the discovery of the site of the ancient university of Alexandria, an American newspaper says, that, among other things, it was the place where Euclid invented his theorems. Did he invent his theorems?
The distinction between invention and discovery is fairly clear. You invent something new. You discover what is already there. Columbus discovered America (as they say). James Watt invented the steam engine (to give familiar examples of the use of these words)..
Now what about the theorems of Plane Geometry?
More generally, what is Mathematics? Is it invention by man or is it something in Nature which we discover, or is it neither of these?
A mathematician of the first order creates a field. With his system of Axioms and Postulates Euclid created the field of Plane Geometry. Once a field has been created, there can be discoveries in that field. Such facts as :: the Pythagoras Theorem that the square on the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal in area to the sum of the squares on the other two sides; that the three angles of a triangle are together equal to two right angles - in short, the theorems of Plane
Geometry are discoveries in the world of Plane Geometry.
Euclidian Geometry may be viewed, at a more abstract level, as defining Euclidian space. The theorems of the familiar Plane Geometry are discoveries in this space.
The concept of a number is also an abstraction. There are no numbers in the real world. There are only objects, and number is not one of them. Have you come across a square root or an imaginary number? Once the notion of number has been defined and a number system set up (rational numbers, for example), various interesting properties of the system can be discovered. A property of the number system is that there is no last number. You can go on writing (or constructing) numbers up to infinity. And if you take out all the even numbers from the set, the set of even numbers which is half the original set, is also infinite. There is no last even number.
Clearly there are discoveries in Mathematics although they are not exactly of the same type as in Zoology, Chemistry or Botany. In these sciences we find out things that are already there in nature, though not known to us earlier. But the discoveries in Mathematics are properties and objects of a world created by man.
Are there inventions in this world? There are. Many would agree that Leibniz invented the Calculus; Galois invented Matrix Algebra - to give just two examples. Again we see that invention here is not the same as in Physics, for example. Invention, as ordinarily understood (and as it applies to invention in Physics, for example,), utilises the objects and elements of the real world to fabricate a device - a microscope, a telescope, an electric bulb, bulb, etc. Calculus is not an object. It is a technique for solving certain types of problems.
The notions of invention and discovery apply both in respect of the real world - the world of physical objects - and in the abstract world of Mathematics. How we understand them follows from the nature of these two different worlds.
Announcing the discovery of the site of the ancient university of Alexandria, an American newspaper says, that, among other things, it was the place where Euclid invented his theorems. Did he invent his theorems?
The distinction between invention and discovery is fairly clear. You invent something new. You discover what is already there. Columbus discovered America (as they say). James Watt invented the steam engine (to give familiar examples of the use of these words)..
Now what about the theorems of Plane Geometry?
More generally, what is Mathematics? Is it invention by man or is it something in Nature which we discover, or is it neither of these?
A mathematician of the first order creates a field. With his system of Axioms and Postulates Euclid created the field of Plane Geometry. Once a field has been created, there can be discoveries in that field. Such facts as :: the Pythagoras Theorem that the square on the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal in area to the sum of the squares on the other two sides; that the three angles of a triangle are together equal to two right angles - in short, the theorems of Plane
Geometry are discoveries in the world of Plane Geometry.
Euclidian Geometry may be viewed, at a more abstract level, as defining Euclidian space. The theorems of the familiar Plane Geometry are discoveries in this space.
The concept of a number is also an abstraction. There are no numbers in the real world. There are only objects, and number is not one of them. Have you come across a square root or an imaginary number? Once the notion of number has been defined and a number system set up (rational numbers, for example), various interesting properties of the system can be discovered. A property of the number system is that there is no last number. You can go on writing (or constructing) numbers up to infinity. And if you take out all the even numbers from the set, the set of even numbers which is half the original set, is also infinite. There is no last even number.
Clearly there are discoveries in Mathematics although they are not exactly of the same type as in Zoology, Chemistry or Botany. In these sciences we find out things that are already there in nature, though not known to us earlier. But the discoveries in Mathematics are properties and objects of a world created by man.
Are there inventions in this world? There are. Many would agree that Leibniz invented the Calculus; Galois invented Matrix Algebra - to give just two examples. Again we see that invention here is not the same as in Physics, for example. Invention, as ordinarily understood (and as it applies to invention in Physics, for example,), utilises the objects and elements of the real world to fabricate a device - a microscope, a telescope, an electric bulb, bulb, etc. Calculus is not an object. It is a technique for solving certain types of problems.
The notions of invention and discovery apply both in respect of the real world - the world of physical objects - and in the abstract world of Mathematics. How we understand them follows from the nature of these two different worlds.
Dhatura
New Metal Member
I think it was invented, like all other scientific discourse. Nothingness existed before it was named zero, I guess the relationships existed too, but when you name them you invent the science itself.
Though according to this logic nothing is discovered but everything's invented.
Though according to this logic nothing is discovered but everything's invented.
bleed_black_orchid
biff and chips
I dont like mathematics simply because I dont understand it and I was never particularly good at it. I managed to get a C at GCSE which shocked my teacher. Science and maths are just not my thing whatsoever althoug I got 2 B's in science I hated it.
Lord_Of_This_World
refer to manual.
maths is an abstract. is doesnt exist in a tangible sense. the understanding of such makes it exist.
bleed_black_orchid
biff and chips
StevenK
Member
Lord_Of_This_World
refer to manual.
look at the word in big black letters at the top of this forum. antimatter exists only as an abstract. it has never been witnessed or touched or experienced. its existance relies solely on the failiure to answer complex mathematical equations.
i hate maths because i have a course going right now and an exam in avg(2.0,3.0) weeks. and i'm not sure if i can make it. multidimensional analysis is one weak point of many.
I absolutely envy everyone with good skill of maths. Occasionally I'm decent at it but mostly I suck. It's all hard work as I'm not particularly smart.
One thing between me and graduation is stupid statistical(?) maths course. It's pretty easy but I always fuck it up. Oh and the teacher happens to be red neck ex-general.
That was my rant. Sure you're all very interested as I'm such a regular here.
One thing between me and graduation is stupid statistical(?) maths course. It's pretty easy but I always fuck it up. Oh and the teacher happens to be red neck ex-general.
That was my rant. Sure you're all very interested as I'm such a regular here.
Would make a nice story but I'm not. My avatar pic is the King of Swaziland who is known as quite a playboy in that part of world.Alwin said:
But the red neckness still affects the lessona as my class is roughly divided between no good hippies like me and proper engineer types who got better treatment. I'm not talking about grades though.
Dhatura
New Metal Member
blackeyed
original rude boy
i dont mind maths, i got a B grade at GCSE when i was 16, but i don't like numbers as such and have recently found out that i may be dyslexic - have to have a test. i just confuse things round. cuz im thick
bleed_black_orchid
biff and chips
claire's not thick.. she's working in a library..and B and Q ..that place is known for its geniuses.
Im just garbage at maths it always took me ages to understand what was goin on and I always wanted to know why you had to divide this by this and x it by that and no one had the answer so it all seemed a little bit pointless to me.
Im just garbage at maths it always took me ages to understand what was goin on and I always wanted to know why you had to divide this by this and x it by that and no one had the answer so it all seemed a little bit pointless to me.
I think teachers with not enough patience and/or intelligence to explain a maths problem from different point of view may be an important cause for people not to like maths. If you ask a question and the teacher explains it in the same way as before (which you didn't understand), then what's the point indeed!
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