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I completely dislike this misnomer in our society that people use over and over.
"well I am not good in Math."
"I am no mathematician."
"Well Math is no my thing."
if you can't subtract a simple Number.
you can't multiply 2 digit Number by 1 digit Number.
you can't come to simple percentage.
you can't do simple cross multiplication.
you can't do resolve a simple algebra problem in your mind.
...
then you lack basic understanding of fifth grade arithmetic.
you can go through an entire Math undergraduate degree and still be no good in Math.
And Xerox would prefer that the term is only used in reference to Xerox itself and not generic photocopying. However, language is fluid and meanings can and do change over time. As 99.9% of people know exactly what one means when one says "I am no good at math," the message is understood as intended and the expression works.
And Xerox would prefer that the term is only used in reference to Xerox itself and not generic photocopying. However, language is fluid and meanings can and do change over time. As 99.9% of people know exactly what one means when one says "I am no good at math," the message is understood as intended and the expression works.
I am not trying to be a jerk but i think the following analogy kind of holds
arithmetic -> math = riding Bike -> piloting Airplane
I completely dislike this misnomer in our society that people use over and over.
"well I am not good in Math."
"I am no mathematician."
"Well Math is no my thing."
if you can't subtract a simple Number.
you can't multiply 2 digit Number by 1 digit Number.
you can't come to simple percentage.
you can't do simple cross multiplication.
you can't do resolve a simple algebra problem in your mind.
...
then you lack basic understanding of fifth grade arithmetic.
you can go through an entire Math undergraduate degree and still be no good in Math.
Okay, how about "math is a subject that I do not excel in"?
Is that more acceptable?
The truth is not fee hone is proficient with any level of math. We are not all wired to excel in absolutely everything which is a simple fact of being human and not perfect.
I don't understand why this is something that you are spending time and energy on being upset about.
Your choice though so carry on.
You are incorrect. There are plenty of people who have rather average or below math skills who excel at all of those fields. There are programmers who struggled through a college calc I class, yet excel at programming. Logic in regards to being a lawyer (as in the LSAT) is in no way related to how much aptitude a person has at math.
Structured math classes like the ones in college, are much different than classes that use math for purposes other than math. Many people struggle in a structured math class, yet excel, or at least are more comfortable, in classes that use math, but math is not the reason for the class.
I have no idea where you get any of your conclusions from, do you have any references? My conclusions are just from my own experiences and from people I know. I know people out of t12 law schools that are horrible at math, I know people out of t25 b-schools that hardly passed calc I, yet excel at any math needed for a b-class.
well One can argue that in the modern world you can not be obvious to other fields.
for instance I should sort of have an idea what a "power of attorney" is even though I am not lawyer. That is I may not be able to prepare one but I should know the notion.
and the same goes for people in humanities. You can't study in a humanity field (say philosophy)
and not have any general idea about what a Bacteria is, What a Virus is. What is an Enzyme.
not understand that matter takes three basic forms.
I know people out of t25 b-schools that hardly passed calc I, yet excel at any math needed for a b-class.
I barely passed Calc I for math majors, but I graduated from a top-5 business school and have done quantitative research in finance for 35 years, been director of research for two financial institutions, and published 150+ articles.
I still think people should learn basic math skills.
I was disappointed at your text after seeing the title of your thread.
I also dislike when people say "I am not good at math" but for a completely different reason. I think people use it as an excuse to not learn math. While some people are inherently better at math, I think that almost anyone can become proficient given time, effort, and good instruction. We don't let educated people say, "well, reading just isn't my thing" as an excuse for being illiterate. I don't think we should accept some false-notion of inherent mathematical disability as an excuse, either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericsami
I completely dislike this misnomer in our society that people use over and over.
"well I am not good in Math."
"I am no mathematician."
"Well Math is no my thing."
if you can't subtract a simple Number.
you can't multiply 2 digit Number by 1 digit Number.
you can't come to simple percentage.
you can't do simple cross multiplication.
you can't do resolve a simple algebra problem in your mind.
...
then you lack basic understanding of fifth grade arithmetic.
you can go through an entire Math undergraduate degree and still be no good in Math.
For someone who is so pedantic about math, you've got the logic all wrong. Elementary arithmetic is a subset of math in general, so if someone is bad at arithmetic then they are also bad at math. If someone is bad at math they may be competent in arithmetic but fault themselves for instance, not knowing much about measure theory.
And like most things in language, context is important. If my friend who is a professor of applied mathematics says that he's not good at math (and he has), I take that to mean pure mathematics like classifying the finite groups or proving the Kepler conjecture. Compared to me he's probably forgotten more about math than I'll ever know. When I as a physicist say I'm not good at math I mean I struggle with rigor, but I can still make use of much of the applied mathematical tools that real mathematicians have proved. When some random, non-technical person tells me they're not good at math I assume they mean arithmetic and algebra, i.e. the forms of math that EVERYONE sees at some point in their life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericsami
well the issue with operating a machine is one should have basic grasp of what the input is expected to be and what the output is expected to be.
for instance if I don't know increasing something by 12% means multiplying the quantity by 1.12 then the calculator can't help me.
if I don't understand that Negative values can't have square roots then I am kind of out luck.
Except that negative numbers do have square roots in the complex plane. Two, even.
I don't really care if someone is good at math or not, it doesn't really affect me and they may have a genuine learning disability with regards to that. The OP's general massacre of the english language throughout this thread would be an indication that while they are obviously educated that maybe they have some areas they aren't the greatest at either.
Now where I do have an issue is when people with rudimentary math skills and little or no analytical training start presenting "studies" in the various forums (especially political).
The garbage about "red states" and "blue states" or mangling correlation to try to make people look racist or to support a racist argument and so forth.
Basically, I don't care if you aren't a surgeon as long as you aren't trying to operate on people.
P.S. The OP is correct that there are a lot of innumerate people out there and it doesn't carry the social stigma with it like illiteracy does.
if 10% of men are gay and 20% of men are Chinese... What are the odds that a man chosen at random likes to spend his free time and mealtime while on his knees?
Oh... and here's really valuable mathematical information in regards to fractions.... When making love with someone, it's improper for the larger one to be on top.
It is bad thinking that anybody said to you stop it, but I said to you pectic makes a man perfect. So you can try. I think your basic skill so much week, so you try to develop your skill, then try to practice your math.
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