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I work with mainly autistic students, and my students excel in the more concrete math and science concepts, and struggle greatly with any concepts that are in any way abstract, be these concepts in math or science, or in interpreting an analyzing literature or participating in the arts. Math and science generally appeal to those who prefer things black and white, right or wrong.
Just use a calculator and you will not need to think.
How lovely life would be if every occasion that required thinking could be reduced to "just use a calculator".
Perhaps that's the answer to the OP's question and the title of this thread? At least as it pertains to the math portion. It was a really long time ago that I was in school, but we didn't have calculators. We had to solve the problem with <gasp> paper and pencil and we had to show how we did it. Many a kitchen table was wet with homework tears back then. But the prevailing wisdom today is to "just use a calculator", or "Google it". And while I marvel at the technology, it doesn't encourage independent thought.
How lovely life would be if every occasion that required thinking could be reduced to "just use a calculator".
Perhaps that's the answer to the OP's question and the title of this thread? At least as it pertains to the math portion. It was a really long time ago that I was in school, but we didn't have calculators. We had to solve the problem with <gasp> paper and pencil and we had to show how we did it. Many a kitchen table was wet with homework tears back then. But the prevailing wisdom today is to "just use a calculator", or "Google it". And while I marvel at the technology, it doesn't encourage independent thought.
This is the big lie of globalization, that you can destroy your industry and everyone will become scientists or engineers in a service economy.
The truth is that very few students have the brains (you really need an IQ of at least 115, better if it's close to 125), plus the drive and the temperament to become an electrical engineer with a master's degree.
Wow, I wonder if you are right? I am one of those right brained people who cannot grasp upper math, but I always thought it was because I was not taught correctly. It has always been on my bucket list to get into a basic math class to prove to myself I could learn it. I've never considered the possibility that I'm too dumb.
My gut feeling is that we are wired to be good at certain things. My neighbor is a colllege math professor..brilliant guy, but he didn't know he had to water the trees he planted, so they all died.
My grandson is probably getting a free ride to college to study chemical engineering, but he got better grades in German than he does in English. WE SPEAK ENGLISH. Go figure.
I dunno. I am not sure I believe the wired thing is true in all people to such a degree that it completely hampers your ability to learn.
I think there are definitely extreme cases one way or another, but it's been my experience that the high achievers (top 10% of the class) didn't get there by excelling at one subject - they got As in everything (math, science, language, music, history, economics, etc).
Still, Base 16 is important to understand for programmers.
0xDEADBEEF
0xDEADBABE
0xBADF00D
Those are all important magic numbers in software debugging.
OMG dude, people that don't realize this is a joke will think programmers really sit around reading hex core dumps. Unless you bought an ENIAC at a NASA surplus sale you will never have to interpret hex code. However if someone does it as a hobby that keeps them away from the playground, that's another thing, but it's not part of a programmer's daily life and hasn't been since at least 1983 when I started coding for a living.
Being a rocket scientist, brain surgeon or astronaut is not seen as glamorous?
Wow, some people are hard to please!
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