@matrix youcubed.org/

There could actually be something to this and I would be all for it, but I also picture myself in that classroom environment and imagining being bored to tears because I could come up with the right answer without group activities or physical representations of abstract concepts.
@dew_the_dew @matrix
There literally is nothing to this.
"Modern teaching methods" are ridiculously stupid, if you want to teach someone about mathematics have them sit down and listen and then make then do exercises. If they can't take it, don't teach them mathematics, most people will never in their life need to know what a derivative is, forcing it down their throats hurts everyone involved.

Not like anybody is teaching mathematics anyway, rather they are teaching a vague imitation where you have to tease out information from incredibly stupid ""real world problems"" and then apply memorized rules until you get to "the solution".
@servant_of_the_anime_avatars @dew_the_dew @matrix

> most people will never in their life need to know what a derivative is, forcing it down their throats hurts everyone involved.

This advice is bad and you should feel bad

Derivatives are a vital part of understanding the modern world.

You shouldn't have to force it down anyone's throat, either - if adults around them actually gave a shit about using their brains kids will learn this stuff naturally.
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@jeffcliff @servant_of_the_anime_avatars @dew_the_dew Even Wikipedia gives you an example in the first paragraph of how important derivatives are: "For example, the derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity: this measures how quickly the position of the object changes when time advances."

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@matrix @jeffcliff @servant_of_the_anime_avatars @dew_the_dew >hey pal, don't you think you're driving way too fast?
>idk, let me calculate the derivative of the position of this car with respect to the time it takes to move a certain distance. Here, take the wheel while I'm at it
Real world problems
@matrix @jeffcliff @servant_of_the_anime_avatars @dew_the_dew They teach you a rudimentary form of derivatives in high school physics, just without calling them derivatives because people freeze up when you start using technical math terms.

A lot of the problem with math is while yes, there are a lot of people that seriously struggle to think in terms of abstractions, they do a poor job of teaching it to those that can. My brother, not exactly a slow guy, was struggling with algebra in high school. I told him to look at a letter like a question mark or a blank and it was like something clicked in his head. There are ways to make it more accessible without dumbing it down. That and they need to stop talking about the stigma, since I think the stigma math has is what intimidates people as much as anything.
@mrsaturday @matrix @dew_the_dew @jeffcliff
>they do a poor job of teaching it to those that can
My guess is that the teachers don't get it either, at least my experience is that for a long time the teachers I had were anything but mathematically minded.
And you can't teach something if you don't have a deep understanding of it.
@servant_of_the_anime_avatars @matrix @jeffcliff @mrsaturday if you have a deep understanding of it you can do jobs that command a much better salary.
@jeffcliff @matrix @servant_of_the_anime_avatars @mrsaturday Why the fuck do you seem to think we are attacking the idea of learning calculus? What we are saying is that most people aren't that bright and are never going to use it in any practical application and it's a waste of time and resources trying to force them to learn it.
@dew_the_dew @matrix @mrsaturday @servant_of_the_anime_avatars It's not. I normal, and even slower teach kids calculus, and if they can learn it so can normal people

It's not a waste of time, either - certainly no more than any of the other myriad ways most people have to waste time
@jeffcliff @matrix @servant_of_the_anime_avatars @mrsaturday I don't even know who that is and I honestly don't care, also you still haven't stopped being fat and eating shit.
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