[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]

2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/sci/ - Science & Math

File: 88 KB, 866x1300, 94577855-angry-student-finds-calculating-math-problem-a-hard-challenge.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

11520070

Anonymous Tue Mar 31 22:14:22 2020 No.11520070 [Reply] [Original]

How can I turn an understanding of math concepts into the ability to actually solve problems? I've quite stupidly gotten myself 2 years into an engineering degree despite hating and being bad at math in all forms, and currently I'm a few weeks away from probably failing Calc 3 for the second time. I don't think my issue is a inability to understand math, as I can grasp the concepts and what things represent fairly easily most of the time. The problem is, every time I actually sit down and try to do a math problem, my mind goes blank and all I can do is stare at it for a few seconds and think "ah fuck, I can't solve this". I understand how the general concepts apply but can't for the life of me actually do anything with the problem. It doesn't help that I don't enjoy solving math problems in the slightest, whether conceptual or applied. I know you're supposed to get a feeling of accomplishment from solving them, but all I get is an impending dread of "well that problem is finished, but there's 10 more on this assignment, another 20 assignments in this class, two more years of similar classes after that, and then a lifetime in a field that's mostly just doing more math". How do I un-fuck myself? How can I force myself to get better at actually doing math?

>>	Anonymous Tue Mar 31 22:16:14 2020 No.11520072 Read a lot of the solutions. I would spend most of my time studying solutions, and about 10% of it actually solving problems myself. It gave me a good background for various techniques.

>>

Anonymous Tue Mar 31 22:30:39 2020 No.11520100

>>11520070
Try doing practice problems from math competitions, and think really hard a problem before taking a peek at a bit of the solution. Repeat. Then repeat for more problems. Eventually you'll start to learn patterns for solving/tackling/approaching problems.

>>

Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:19:44 2020 No.11520340

>>11520070
i am in the same boat with you
i found that applying the concepts when solving questions helps quite a lot, although it takes a lot more time, but you can do it much faster after repeating the process a few times
i still can't remember all those tricks though

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:35:55 2020 No.11520363 obvious but ur problem doesnt seem to be "how do I get at math" but "how do I stop becoming bored at math" which is. something no textbook can help u with. Maybe ur burnt out? Maybe you're just not challenged enough?

>>

Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:42:37 2020 No.11520374

>>11520072
lol holy shit that is a terrible way to get better at math. You aren't getting better at math, you're just getting better at solving problems, that were designed to allow for you to understand and internalize the concepts being put forth.

If you just stare at solutions for a few months, eventually the contrived nature of the questions becomes obvious, and you can apply the techniques you have learned, but you haven't gotten better at math

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:43:49 2020 No.11520376 >>11520363 >Maybe you're just not challenged enough This is almost literally NEVER actually the case for people struggling with math

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:44:56 2020 No.11520380 >>11520100 shit advice. math competition math for engineers is useless. -signed theoretical physicist

>>

Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:51:30 2020 No.11520391

>>11520070
>impending dread
Ah, the old impending dread.
It steals your focus so relentlessly and yet so subtly that you become convinced that it must be something else that is so severely impacting your ability to properly address the task at hand.
Or maybe not. That's my theory, anyway.

>>

Anonymous Wed Apr 1 00:58:06 2020 No.11520408

>>11520363
See >>11520376
I can barely get through problems, it's definitely not an issue of being too easy. Not burnout either, I've felt this way about math since middle school, and I doubt I was burnt out then. I think it really just stems from a fundamental disinterest in math. Probably irreconcilable with majoring/working in engineering but not much I can do about that at this point. My best option is to just force myself through the degree and hope to find a job that's only semi-engineering related, as far as I can tell. I'd rather make myself better at math than end up wasting 2 years worth of tuition just to switch to a different degree.

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 01:10:19 2020 No.11520437 >>11520408 There's also the soul-sucking factor you might want to take into consideration.

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 01:11:32 2020 No.11520439 >>11520436 Right now

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 01:11:43 2020 No.11520440 >>11520408 ya, don't switch/stop now. The education is still good, and it will help you find some kind of meaningful employment, even if not exactly related.

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 02:09:40 2020 No.11520602 >>11520374 >How can I turn an understanding of math concepts into the ability to actually solve problems? From the OP lol

>>	Anonymous Wed Apr 1 02:15:34 2020 No.11520618 File: 43 KB, 500x416, math-fail-pics-464.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>11520070 pretend everything is an anime and that you have a cute loayal himoutou at home to help you study