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/sci/ - Science & Math

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3840610 No.3840610 [Reply] [Original]

/sci/, I'm pretty bad at math. I always thought I was just dumb and slow because I was always the last to turn in a test, or even finish it for that matter. That explanation was the easy way out, because it allowed me to say fuck math, it's not for me and i'm allowed to be bad at it because i'm dumb. Well, that's not true, and math is literally everywhere, so I need to learn it. So, I eventually figured out my real problem with math - paralysis by analysis. I would always be so slow because of how much I would think about/second guess myself about a problem. It started around the time of geometry when shit required more than one step. I was told how if I messed up 1 step I would screw up the whole problem. Well, that scared me, so every problem I would do, every step I would look back at the problem, make sure the numbers were right, look back at my steps, make sure those were right and continue on. This would make problems take at least triple the time everyone else was doing them at. When I rushed, I started making mistakes and messing up everything. So, before this gets unbearably long (probably already is), how do I go about getting more confident and faster at doing math?

TL;DR: Over analyze math problems, making it take forever to solve. How do I get better/more confident at math?

>> No.3840615

if you check yoru work so much, do you get 100% on everything?

>> No.3840620

practice makes perfect. rote memorization is actually very good for you too - it makes some tasks second nature to let you think about more complicated stuff, etc.

basically, do as much math as possible. you'll slowly get better/more confident. find tests online and do them

that, or stop being such a pussay

>> No.3840625

>>3840615
If I finish, I can normally get 95% plus. Finishing doesn't happen too often though.

>> No.3840626

Get the perfect mix of being shitfaced tired and awake. I had the same problem as you, but whenever i hit that golden ratio i did it in a quarter the time with a better score. The funny thing was every time i thought i'd fail the test horribly.

>> No.3840641

>>3840626
I don't get it. So you're saying to make myself feel tired and I'll do better?

>> No.3840643

>>3840626
same here bro

I got my highest score on ACT when I hardly got any sleep and this fucking chink was wheezing and coughing the entire time next to me. I was mad as fuck at the time.

Really I think I'd do so much better if I were a more alpha test taker lol. I try to think I'm smart but I still end up second guessing myself the entire time.

>> No.3840648

>>3840643
>>3840626
So they all lied to me when they told me to get a good night sleep before tests!

>> No.3840653

>>3840648
yes and the eating breakfast thing is a lie too. Late eaters actually do better in the morning on tests.

>> No.3840658

>>3840653
Could I get a sauce.

>> No.3840665

i got tons of study advice from /sci/
then i googled what would up my brainpower
turns out, complex carbs that slow release
so i went to find something low in the glycemic index
turns out-- i had broccoli
broccoli is magical, it has every vitamin/mineral you could need, save about 3, and complex carbs that put it at a 14 on the glycemic index.
100 is the benchmark of pure glucose
i ate a huge amount of broccoli, and a egg and hot sauce burrito
i destroyed that test with next to no studying
i also got about 7 hrs of sleep that night.

>> No.3840694

>>3840658
>When kids skip breakfast they pay attention, behave, and perform better throughout the entire school day

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/nutrition/logic-does-not-apply-part-2-breakfast/

Haven't really looked at the sources myself. It's kind of common knowledge now on /fit/ that "you have to eat breakfast" and "must eat every three hours" are bullshit.

>> No.3840695

Practice problems yo. Best way in the world. Really most math is just pattern recognition. Being able to see a problem and go "oh yeah, you solve this by doing these steps" or "hey, I can change this into that, which I know I can do by those steps". Experience is what gets you there. Honestly, most teachers don't assign enough homework to get most people to that point and few people are willing to put in that extra effort.

Now, add into that, there's a huge mental hurdle as well. You seem to have overcome that to some extent by realizing that you've had the wrong attitude in regards to math as a subject. The big step here is just realizing that no math out there is impossible to understand. Note, this does not mean to imply it is all necessarily easy or even worth your time. The value'll have to be something you decide for yourself: be it qualifying for a better job or even just pursuing for a hobby or any point imaginable.

Also, realize that most all math is just addition and multiplication. Over time, short-hand has popped up over time to compress an idea to a line or two that otherwise would have taken up a lot of room (like binomial coefficient notation, for example). It looks freaky and scary, until you realize it's just shorthand for another formula. Once you get used to that (which won't happen long if you work at a decent number of practice problems), you're in the home stretch, and you've come on the secret that even many of the more complex mathematical ideas are just a bunch of really simple ideas and processes put together.

>> No.3840696

>>3840665
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2357/2
look at this shit /sci/
what the fuck

>> No.3840731

>>3840665

>i ate a huge amount of broccoli, and a egg and hot sauce burrito
>i destroyed that test with next to no studying

Correlation does not mean causation.

>> No.3840772

>>3840694
You know, I'm gonna try this. Does anyone have anything on the sleeping less will make you better at tests thing? Also, i'll of course practice problems when I get the chance too. But to be honest, practicing repeatedly is kinda stale. I need some spice added in.

>> No.3840801

Also
>>3840696
>dat broccoli with dat 6.7g of protein

>> No.3840827

Your Brain at Work

Art of Problem Solving (paul zeitz)

Read those two books.

>> No.3840860

>>3840827
Will do, I've got a pretty hefty reading list and I just keep adding to it. Feels okay man.

>> No.3840880 [DELETED] 
File: 6 KB, 180x191, 1285116835848.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3840880

>mfw I used to be a smart guy but haven't read anything outside of school in a year due to depression

>> No.3840891

math is like playing music.

first you must practice till your fingers/eyes bleed. then when the time comes to perform, you must not overthink, you must let your mind flow. don't second guess. do musicians who perform in front of audiences look nervous or confident? do you think they second guess?

>> No.3840895

>>3840891
I don't know, I'll have to ask a couple of my friends who are in a band. [spoilers] they're not very good [/spoilers]

>> No.3840920

>>3840610
Math isn't hard, your teachers probably just suck.

>> No.3840990

>>3840920
I never said it was hard, but I would also disagree with you. Math is hard. If math was easy, then we wouldn't teach it as a main subject, and we would all be writing boards worth of equations.

>> No.3840996

>>3840990
if math is so hard, how come computers can do it?

>> No.3841036

>>3840996
Computers can do math, but they can only do as much math as we know is possible.

>> No.3842661

>>3840996
Can computers solve the answers to the unknown answers to math? Fuck no, math isnt just pure calculation, the kind of bullshit they force you to do in school. It requires creativity and logical problem solving, like a puzzle. I mean, has the average person ever done a proof?

>> No.3842682

>>3840610
same boat op. Just do more math and fill holes you have. Do anything, get some practice books, do stuff on khanacademy, w/e.

I don't see how it's so bad though. I mean it's better to double check then to rush through it and get it completely wrong.

>> No.3842696

>>3840665
this. Blue berrys are also tight.