User:Paine Ellsworth/Math-ugh

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ugh Math-ugh

Yes, I know the feeling. Most people never get over the "ugh" when it comes to math, a short form for mathematics, of course. I got over the math-ugh in 7th grade. Hated math all through elementary school and into jr. high; however, then I met Miss Dunlap. Wish I could remember her exact words of encouragement, because they had a remarkable impact on me. Back in 1961 my first 7th grade semester in Miss Dunlap's general math class saw me getting a near-failing grade of "D". That's when she sat me down and gave me the inspirational talk. 2nd semester yielded a "B", and then straight "A's" after that. Took algebra in 8th grade under Dr. Ladd, who liked to have fun chasing pretty girls around the classroom and tapping nasty boys on the noggin with a stick. In 9th grade I achieved a special math course called "Dolciani algebra". Teach didn't seem to mind that I never did my homework, since I consistently Ace'd my exams. Continued to get higher and higher math classes until I met up with trigonometry; then I began to slip. Couldn't seem to get past 2 dimensions – 3D was so much more perplexing. Kinda like in astronomy going from a two-body problem to a three-body problem; both the conceptual grasps and the math just get so much more complex.

Presently considering various pathways to learning the calculus, such as Calcworkshop (pricing ). Found some interesting words to describe calculus from George Berkeley:

"Berkeley did not dispute the results of calculus; he acknowledged the results were true. The thrust of his criticism was that Calculus was not more logically rigorous than religion. He instead questioned whether mathematicians "submit to Authority, take things upon Trust" just as followers of religious tenets did. According to Burton, Berkeley introduced an ingenious theory of compensating errors that were meant to explain the correctness of the results of calculus. Berkeley contended that the practitioners of calculus introduced several errors which cancelled, leaving the correct answer. In his own words, "by virtue of a twofold mistake you arrive, though not at science, yet truth"."

- The Analyst

I find it intriguing that calc mathsters are unafraid to use such as infinity and the undefined division by zero in their quest for a solution, just as long as they can later cancel them out and get to a truthful conclusion. Fascinating actually. Well, since I am getting older, this might take some time. Wish me luck!

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