Poll of the Day > Do you ever use the math you learned in high school or college weekly?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like algebra, geometry, calculus. Shit like addition and fractions don't count.
---

Nah. As soon as I learned it I forgot it in most cases.
---

Nope
---

I never learned that stuff. Well, I might've done a little bit of geometry in like, middle school or something.
---

Algebra, yes.
---

yes, not all of it but most of it, it's the job I do,you know, engineering and all
---

Hard to be sure, but I don't think so. In general, most math beyond the really basic stuff isn't terribly useful unless you're pursuing a career in a math-related field or into programming.
---

Linear Algebra comes up near constantly if you do 3d game programming, which I only do occasionally as a hobby. Vectors and Matrices and so forth. Also mathematical induction which can be useful, but no not weekly.

Discrete Math has a lot of regularly useful stuff like the pigeonhole principle, fundamental theorem of arithmetic, GCD/LCM, etc.etc.

Using it "weekly" is tricky, since as a programmer anything like that that I used I would just program so I never had to do it manually. Some of my programs that I use daily are basically linear equation solvers, which is linear algebra, for example.
---

No. The curriculum is stupid and outdated.
---

Not really. In some of my quantitative methods classes I'll use a little math, but the highest math I even needed to do was "Calculus for Social Science Majors" and most of that doesn't come up often.
---

MrMelodramatic posted...

"Calculus for Social Science Majors"

I just imagine that course being like "today's lesson: differential equations from a Marxist-feminist perspective", or "a discussion on whether the chain rule is transphobic".
---

TheCyborgNinja posted...

No. The curriculum is stupid and outdated.

i might agree with this, but then again i wasn't that great at stuff like algebra 1 and up

I use Algebra literally everyday.

That said, People are still too dumb to see that the point of those classes wasn't always necessarily the content.
---

Btw, while you may not use the math regularly, it's useful to learn objective problem solving in school on a regular basis so you build the kind of logic you'll need to learn other things.
---

wwinterj25 posted...

Nah. As soon as I learned it I forgot it in most cases.

This.

Arguably, the only math I ever use on a regular basis is stuff I learned in elementary school. Addition and subtraction from 1st grade and multiplication/division/fractions in 3rd grade probably makes up the entirety of the math I need to do at any point.

I DID deliberately choose a major in college that was specifically math-exempt, however (though I did wind up doing rudimentary pre-calc anyway for my statistics class), so I've sort of shaped my life to specifically minimize all need for higher math.

The biggest issue for me was that the majority of math teachers I had in school were massive fuck-ups or assholes, which led me to wind up hating the subject, and mostly bullshitting my way through it. Which also led me to forget most of it the moment I no longer needed it for tests, which is part of why I avoided it so hard later in my educational life. If I'd actually had competent math teachers, I might have gravitated into one of the STEM fields instead.


---

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Btw, while you may not use the math regularly, it's useful to learn objective problem solving in school on a regular basis so you build the kind of logic you'll need to learn other things.

This is true, but arguably there are better ways to teach the same skills.

I've said for years that schools should implement systems thinking classes (where students are encouraged to consider chain reactions and long-term consequences for potential actions, and generally develop a more holistic view of the world and how it operates), which would basically revolve around most of the same skillset there (only verbally instead of with math).

There's also the old liberal arts model of the "trivium" (grammar, logic, and rhetoric), which would be a hell of a lot more useful than a lot of what we actually teach these days. Especially in a world that is so heavily focused on communication by one means or another. If anything, a solid foundation in logic and rhetoric might clear up about 90% of the problems in modern political systems (which is why we'll never get those classes, because the people in a position to push that agenda have a vested interest in preventing it).


---

Calculus can burn in hell.
---

ParanoidObsessive posted...

wwinterj25 posted...

Nah. As soon as I learned it I forgot it in most cases.

This.

Arguably, the only math I ever use on a regular basis is stuff I learned in elementary school. Addition and subtraction from 1st grade and multiplication/division/fractions in 3rd grade probably makes up the entirety of the math I need to do at any point.

I DID deliberately choose a major in college that was specifically math-exempt, however (though I did wind up doing rudimentary pre-calc anyway for my statistics class), so I've sort of shaped my life to specifically minimize all need for higher math.

The biggest issue for me was that the majority of math teachers I had in school were massive fuck-ups or assholes, which led me to wind up hating the subject, and mostly bullshitting my way through it. Which also led me to forget most of it the moment I no longer needed it for tests, which is part of why I avoided it so hard later in my educational life. If I'd actually had competent math teachers, I might have gravitated into one of the STEM fields instead.

Do you think higher i.q. people are usually better at upper level math? Do you think there's any correlation between the 2 at all?

UT1999 posted...

Do you think higher i.q. people are usually better at upper level math? Do you think there's any correlation between the 2 at all?

I had one of the highest IQs of anyone I knew (148 in college, according to a professionally-administered test and not the usual bullshit online quizzes that score everyone 20+ points higher than they actually are), and my brain was keyed to verbal far more than math. My SAT score was 780 Verbal, 630 Math (which was an almost unheard of spread at the time - nearly everyone ALWAYS did better on Math than Verbal).

IQ is actually kind of a poor indicator of intelligence in a lot of ways, because it really only measures one type of intelligence, while there are actually multiple variations. Even in my own example, I'd say my verbal and logical aptitudes tend to pull my score up, while my math and visualization weaknesses pull it down. I've also known people who were borderline geniuses but who would also sit in a diner and eat the wax off of candles on the table.

I don't think specific aptitude maps to overall intelligence (ie, someone who is "smart" isn't going to be "smart" at everything, and someone who is extremely skilled in one disciple may be incredibly weak in another). It may seem that way to some degree in school because the "smart" kids are likely going to excel in all of their classes, but that's less because of innate ability or interest, and more because the kids willing to devote a ton of time to study and work in one subject are likely doing the same for all subjects. Especially if they have parents pushing them to excel, or otherwise feel like they NEED to be "the best" academically.


---

Yes, I'm still in school and I use it daily and such. But I think you're looking for examples where people use it after/outside of school. So I'm pretty sure that my post doesn't count...

Sahuagin posted...

Linear Algebra comes up near constantly if you do 3d game programming

Huh, that's interesting to know.
---

once in a while i use basic algebra but beyond that, no.

always laughed at people who think advanced math is super important. to the average person it absolutely isnt

Ha, I'm in the process of relearning calculus right now for an upcoming placement test. I really doubt I'll end up using the material in the actual courses during the school year.

I use algebra and statistics often.
---

nope
---

ParanoidObsessive posted...

IQ is actually kind of a poor indicator of intelligence in a lot of ways, because it really only measures one type of intelligence, while there are actually multiple variations. Even in my own example, I'd say my verbal and logical aptitudes tend to pull my score up, while my math and visualization weaknesses pull it down.

Yes and no. IQ is arguably a better measurement of stupidity than "intelligence" in the D&D sense of the word. A high IQ can only tell you so much, but a low IQ (especially a very low IQ) strongly correlates with a lifetime of struggling to tie your shoes and shit in the toilet. And while I do believe in the theory of multiple intelligences to a point, and genius does tend to be unbalanced (especially in males), people with higher IQs have a tendency to outperform people with lower IQs across all domains. So yes, there are multiple types of intelligence, but they don't have a lot of room to vary independently. Or to look at it another way, if multiple intelligences varied independently, one would expect to see greater unbalances and maybe more idiot savants, and we don't.


Sahuagin posted...

Linear Algebra comes up near constantly if you do 3d game programming

Confirmed. Programming in general relies in some pretty algebraic thinking.
---

Everyone here uses it every second of the day

Yes.
---

I do use algebra on a semi-regular basis. At my job, we have a formula that we use to determine the needling density of the product based on the machine settings. I can rearrange that formula to tell me what machine settings I need to get the required density when the layout sheets from the lab are completely fucked because A) the idiot that types them up can't check his own work with a calculator or B) the layouts are 15 years old and the machine hasn't been able to run at those speeds for 10
---

Do I use the math I learned in middle school every day for programming? I sure do.

Then every now and then I use trigonometric functions. It's like they raise kids to be mathematicians.
---