/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.11278005]

24 year old brainlet here. Maths has become increasingly fascinating to me and I want to study it at uni. I have a shitty, piss poor background with it, and for the longest time the idea of maths would induce intense anxiety. Any anons late bloomers who started studying maths late? Is there any hope? I'd probably be the dumbest person in my classes, but I can stomach that for the curiosity trade off. Don't let me think it's too late, /sci/.

[Anonymous No.11278017]

what a nice painting. i'd like to live in a place like that some day.

[Anonymous No.11278171]

you will have to start from ground 0. go to /t/ and search for the education thread and look for math. you will not be able to handle math uni without having a solid understand of the basics and late high school math. lucky for you you can learn all of the base in 2 months with dedication. there is no shortcuts for learning.

[Anonymous No.11278182]

i'll tell you right now it's never too late. i was average at best at math throughout high-school and then in my senior year read elements, and decided to pursue mathematics at university. despite barely being able to do mental arithmetic when i started, i'm now in my last year and have been relatively successful. it takes work, but you can do it. here's the 2-step program i used:

>1a. khan academy. you can start wherever depending on your current skill level, but i would recommend going through algebra I + II, high school geometry and precalc in that order before applying to any universities. sites such as patrickJMT and mathisfun can be supplement this. the most important thing is to be solid with the basics.

>1b. (optional) if you're anything like me, taking the time to improve mental arithmetic will prove to be invaluable to you. aside from being able to save time on problems and impress your family/friends, having good "number sense" is essential. (being able to estimate/tell if an answer is correct). go through arithmetic on khan academy and then use websites such as mathtrainer.com to practice (there are many others on the internet). i know it seems embarrassing - trust me, i know - but it will be very useful.

>2. once you've applied, you'll want some basic calculus knowledge. your first year courses will most likely be one-two calculus courses, a linear algebra course and potentially a basic proofs course and/or statistics. this may sound overwhelming but you seem like a dedicated person. plus, this will all be taught to you in due time. right now, focus on the basics of calculus. khan academy once again is great for this. you'll only need to cover derivatives (something you perform to a function to find the rate of change a certain point), depending on your country, you won't be expected to know integrals just yet. i'd recommend picking up a basic textbook and working through that, although the majority of my studying took place through the internet.

[Anonymous No.11278188]

>>11278182
good luck anon. you can do it :)

[Anonymous No.11278270]

>>11278182
Thanks a heap for that. It's really helpful. Glad to be hear you're doing well, it helps a fucking tonne to know that there are others who've made an educational turnaround. Best of luck with all your work, you king.

[Anonymous No.11278370]

>>11278270
no problem and thanks! math is way too interesting to pass up the opportunity to study because of past expirences. also forgot to add in first post but your first university math lectures will be stressful as fuck, especially if you’ve never been to university before and when you assume everyone there is smarter than you and is raising their hand for every question or whatever. everyone is just as stressed as you are to be in a new environment, you’re all in the boat. just don’t be afraid to ask “stupid” questions (the benefit everyone including yourself) and take advantage of professors office hours (they’re their to help you) other than that study hard brother :)

[Anonymous No.11278393]

I was pretty average at math in high school and college but when I got to graduate school and I was working in the field suddenly the important aspects of the skillset shifted so dramatically and I started getting almost pushed into doing more of it because I was doing well with that kind of work. And now I do a lot or conceptual math type things at work and I don’t know I guess the point is that academic math is a very specific thing. And other things even math heavy academic science have different skillsets. I think especially the whole ranking people based on speed/ability to be arithmetically accurate went right out the window pretty early on in my career as I was being judged more on what I was able to produce which was more about deciding what questions to answer and being relatively creative and all that sort of business. Whereas obviously that didn’t matter in my college calculus course. But anyway even among my friends who are starting out now in academic math they do things like sit aroujd a big whiteboard and have philosophical discussions about equations or something. And that wasn’t in my colelge math courses either. Anyway just a thought.

[Anonymous No.11278399]

>>11278005
So glad it's not just me. I'm thinking about going to school beyond the cs degree I'm working on now and going into aerospace engineering or something and the thought of math still makes me anxious but I'm definitely going to give it my best.

[Anonymous No.11279829]

>>11278182
>>2. once you've applied, you'll want some basic calculus knowledge. your first year courses will most likely be one-two calculus courses, a linear algebra course and potentially a basic proofs course and/or statistics. this may sound overwhelming but you seem like a dedicated person. plus, this will all be taught to you in due time. right now, focus on the basics of calculus. khan academy once again is great for this. you'll only need to cover derivatives (something you perform to a function to find the rate of change a certain point), depending on your country, you won't be expected to know integrals just yet. i'd recommend picking up a basic textbook and working through that, although the majority of my studying took place through the internet.
wholesome as fuck

[Anonymous No.11279991]

>>11278005
22 and starting a math major in april with a somewhat shit track record (though I was extremely lazy). You're not alone.
I've met a few people who majored in maths despite getting bad grades in school but did well or very well in uni.
Personally, I'm currently taking preparatory courses at my uni that review some basics, maybe check if your institution offers something like that.

[Anonymous No.11280032]

I'm >>11279991
Maybe we could start a discord server (or something on some other platform) for 'mathlets in recovery' and late-bloomers to help with staying motivated and help each other with coursework
Just an idea, maybe that's gay, i dunno

[Anonymous No.11280091]

>>11280032
No one interested?

[Anonymous No.11280132]

>>11280091
OP here. Just checked in on this thread. I'd be up for that.

[Anonymous No.11280163]

>>11280132
Nice, gotta do some things real quick and then I'll set it up.

[Anonymous No.11280170]

>>11280032
>>11280163
Interesting, but make it themed.
There's already enough math general servers, so if you want it to survive for over 2 years, make it interesting/themed.

[Anonymous No.11280176]

>>11280170
Mathlet recover. Specifically aimed at those who began learning maths later in life and want to study it at a university level. Discussion group centered on sharing ways to overcome learning hurdles, studying catchup material, and quasi group therapy for stupid anxiety issues related to intellectual insecurity.

[Anonymous No.11280179]

>>11280176
OP here btw.

[Anonymous No.11280182]

>>11280163
Awesome. I'll keep an eye on this thread for info. Gonna be busy for the day but will jump on later.

[Anonymous No.11280305]

Update: Setting everything up right now, will send invite in roughly 20 minutes

[Anonymous No.11280414]

>>11280182
>>11280179
>>11280176
>>11280170
>>11280163
>>11280132
Okay, here's the link: https://discord.gg/6ruhGg

It's not quite as nice as I'd like it to be but it's getting late

[Anonymous No.11280450]

>>11280414
joined bump

[Anonymous No.11280557]

>>11280450
bump

[Anonymous No.11281021]

>>11280557
Another bump for the sake of mathlet education/rehabilitation.

[Anonymous No.11282722]

Is there anyway to study on your own to get close to a math degree or equivalent? I have tons of old math books my.mom bought me. CLEP exams only seem to cover calc and stats though.... I've read alot about math history and know basics of tons of different math areas just nothing particularly specific.