[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/sci/ - Science & Math

View post   
File: 52 KB, 550x481, 211c16bfhb001.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9376977 No.9376977 [Reply] [Original]

i'm 30 and finally going to college. it's been 12 years since i've been in academic setting. my assessment/placement test is in three weeks. i've been studying math for about 5 days and struggling quite a bit with algebra and highschool level geometry.

i feel a lot dumber than i used to be. i'm having a hard time imagining problems in my head and solving them. is this normal for an older student? will my intellect return? i'm afraid years of drug and alcohol abuse and internet addiction has made me stupid. please give me hope anons

>> No.9376981

>>9376977
You just got rusty that's all. Have you ever stopped driving for a few days? Did you notice how weird the car that you always drive feels? Now imagine after a decade.
If you keep it up you'll get used to it, just try to avoid getting left behind because catching up will be very difficult for you. Take notes, do problem sets, review, etc.

>> No.9376997

>>9376977
>i'm afraid years of drug and alcohol abuse and internet addiction has made me stupid. please give me hope anons

well, it has.

what program are you considering?

>> No.9377307

>>9376997
i'm going for engineering but i won't be able to enter an engineering course until my 2nd semester

>> No.9377322

>>9377307
probably take a precalculus class before you jump in to the calculus stream. calculus classes assume you are proficient in algebra most of the time, but some might be more lax than others.

t. someone who was out of school for a few years before starting undergrad and did this

>> No.9377333
File: 24 KB, 750x663, IMG_1834.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9377333

What exactly are you struggling with? I am also about to (hopefully) enter college and have a bunch of gaps in my pre-calc education. Pic related is very concise and has a lot of practice problems and you could probably work through it in just a few days if you're focused, maybe a week or two otherwise. Don't do all of the problems, just enough to be sure you've got the concept down, try to do the hardest looking ones.

For geometry you could give this a try, it's pretty dense though: https://www.ck12.org/book/Geometry---Second-Edition/

>> No.9377344

>>9376977
>internet addiction has made me stupid
wait is this a thing? I've been on the internet for like ~8 hours a day the last five years or something. Why would being on the internet make you stupid

>> No.9377347

>>9377333
honestly i'm still middle school level math and i think i'm fucking dyslexic or something because i keep writing numbers down wrong and it's pissing me off. i'm starting to think i'm mentally handicapped

>>9377344
terrible attention span, not being able to focus, brain never being challenged in any way

>> No.9377349

>>9377347
still doing*

>> No.9377351

>>9376977
Your mind will get sharper as you use it. I have a similar story yo you. I returned to school after battling depressions and internet/weed addiction. My attention span was shot, I couldn't do math in my head which I used to be able to do when I was younger, I was forgetful, and I had trouble visualizing things. It's a slow process, but if you are disciplined and stick to doing mental work (studying, reading, doing math problems, etc), then your mind will improve. It may take months until you don't feel dumb, but it's worth it.

>> No.9377374
File: 45 KB, 570x487, white_power_frog.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9377374

>>9377351
i've already made huge improvements. it's fun learning how to do these complicated problems. i'm really liking math. if i study hard then maybe i can make a career out of it

>> No.9377392

>>9377347
That's cool man, I am also at a middle school maths level, that book in the picture is literally starting at square one. Chapter 0 is on pre-algebra, stuff like adding and subtracting fractions. It sucks being this far behind but it's not impossible, you have motivation now and you will progress much faster. In school chances were you just saw math class as something boring and as a chore, so you probably weren't trying too hard. Now that it is something you're doing by choice, you'll quickly progress. Just take your time and work through problems. If you get something wrong, go back and find out where you made a mistake or what you did wrong. Repetition is key. Drill it into your head until you could do it in your sleep. If you want you can contact me somehow and I can help you out, I wasgoing through the same journey as you not too long ago.

>> No.9377456

Well, if it makes you feel better, my father did meth in his 20s and managed to get a degree in Electrical Engineering in his 40s at a good university, finishing with a 3.5 GPA. It's possible, but you're going to have to work much harder than a 20 year old

>> No.9377747
File: 26 KB, 500x388, image-8.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9377747

>>9376977
Damn, I'm humbled. Here I am as a HS sophomore beating myself up for *procrastinating* with my work. Here I am thinking it's the end of the world to be in common core subjects at the fault of nothing more than my laziness. Here I am being all whiny and depressed for no reason while people are suffering from true physical problems.

Thank you Anon. I'll look at this post everyday, not because you're stupid, or lazy, or irrational, or whatever wrong thing you think you are. Rather, I'll look at this to remind myself that I have it so much fucking easier than most.

>> No.9377791

Being happy also makes thinking easier. Try and elevate your mood by doing things you enjoy in between studying. You also need to get out more- studying and being in your house constantly will do nothing for you.

>> No.9377796

>>9377747
>HS sophomore
Get off of 4chan now and never look back if you know what's good for you. I was posting here when I was your age and it rotted my soul. You've been warned.

>> No.9377855

>>9377322
This is good advice. It's exactly what I did. You can also get a lot of free PDF's online, a lot of professors put their books online for free. If you're interested I can probably find the link to the one my precal professor put online. I'm at UT Austin which has a damn good math program and the book is pretty good. The department administration can suck a dick though.

I went back at 22 myself, started at a CC and went from there, really I glad I went that route honestly but that's another story.

>> No.9377862

>>9377855
Oh and I want to clarify that the professors and TA's I've had are awesome, maybe I'm just lucky though.

>> No.9377863
File: 22 KB, 247x320, BE CONFIDENT.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9377863

>>9376977
>i

>> No.9377879
File: 613 KB, 1280x1650, 1512758881727.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9377879

>>9377796
Believe it or not Anon, my grades have drastically improved since I started using 4chan. It's probably because, for me, nothing gives a more efficient dosage of comedy than 4chan.
I cripple myself when I take anything seriously; 4chan (minus r9k) lightens me up