Rather pointless? - Page 2

November 7, 2007, 3:05 AM

I think that its wrong to say such things about school. Even though I'm someone who says that its pointless to know a bunch of information that you will never use. Up to a curtain age, people should learn a little bit of everything because I doubt that every student knows what they want to do and how to do it while in school or right after getting out of school.

It wouldn't be very good either if math classes stopped at Algebra 1 because I need need to know high levels of math for my major (computer science). I don't find math to be particularly interesting but it goes along with computer science. This can be true for a number of people depending on what they want to become.

I'm guessing what you meant though was that if you are not planning on pursuing a career that requires math, then there is no need to take the more difficult classes (like trig and calculus). But the things is that you may end up changing your mind about what you want to become very easily. And it would be bad if you needed to know something like high level to pursue it. My dad told me that he wanted to go to college and become a civil engineer (design bridges and stuff like that) but couldn't because he needed better math skills and he didn't take the higher level math courses while in high school. Of course this point can be made with subjects other than math, like science, social studies, and english.

Another example would be at my university, the most popular major among the students is undeclared, which means that they don't know what they want to major in yet, so it is better to have a deep background in a little bit of everything. My point is that it is better to have more knowledge than useful than to have very little of it. Plus, its not part of the education system to try and teach its students the bare minimum.

November 7, 2007, 3:06 AM

That's true, rikku.thief...however, I would be very disappointed when two years later pass by and cannot remember a single thing I've learned about theorems and such. I would then think, "Meh, so much for being proud of myself for learning those back in school."

Because really, therein lies the problem - remembering it. I mean, if you're heading in that direction career-wise, then sure you'd remember most of them, and that's great. But if you're not heading in that area, you'll eventually forget most of the things you've learned sooner than later.

Like I said, basic math is required, yes. It's all around us - we cannot escape it. xD But things like...theorems...er no. However, it's still cool learning them as it provides a challenge to those who wants to be challenged. I just find it a nuisance more than anything, really.

November 7, 2007, 3:12 AM

Yeah, remembering the actual material would be a tricky part. But the fact that you have learned them before, means you can still be able to pick it up and apply it to whatever deems it necessary in the actual applications. And I agree with Addleboy. It is definitely beneficial to know a little stuff over a broad range of topics if you are unsure of which direction would be best for you.

November 7, 2007, 3:35 AM

Hrmmm, I agree that some Math is useless. I forgot the math I learn in High school, I don't remember what Math subjects I learned. My junior year of High school math is when I learned Trigonometry. Trigonometry seems useless to me. :/

Some Science is rather useless. Biology, Physics, and some Earth science are very important in my opinion. Earth Science...some subjects of Earth science is important such as weather, environment, plate tectonics, but rocks? Sure diamonds, gold, fossils are cool but I could careless about sedimentary rocks or metamorphic rocks. Sure, if you want to be a geologist that will be useful. As for chemistry....Well I'm not planing on being a chemist or work for a power plant.

My Character Profiles · November 7, 2007, 4:00 AM

Okay, first of all...things you need to survive in the real world:
Math, English (in English speaking countries), and History.

Math is something that everyone just needs to know. Like I said, you don't need to know trigonometry or any advanced forms of Math and whatnot to survive in the world. But...unless you want to suck at life, not know how to manage your money in the long run, or stop and add numbers on your fingers in line while you're shopping at the mall...math is really something that you need to have a general knowledge of.

English. In English speaking countries, people need to learn to speak English; not Engrish, Inwish, or Engwees. This isn't just about foreigners coming into the country either. If you don't know how to read and write, you're virtually screwed for the rest of your social life (unless you live in Bumfuk Egypt). How you speak, and compose your thoughts into words makes a big difference in the corporate world.

History. History isn't all about learning how Columbus came to America, or how the Cold War ended. History broadens your horizons and provides valuable insight on common sense.
George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and his father forgave him for telling the truth.
Okay, so...some of the things that you learn in History are totally bogus, but they do teach common sense and morals.

November 7, 2007, 4:27 AM

That's true. I especially agree with the English part. I mean, geez, I'm foreign, come from a different country, spoke something other than English as my first language, and still I have better grammar and vocabulary skills than about 95 percent of my classmates. Face it, just because one lives in a country that has English as a main language, doesn't mean it's a good idea to just blow off the subject entirely. Other countries are pretty good at identifying that. It's also NOT about how flashy you can make your language sound - it's what it means that's important.

Also, I think that advanced math doesn't deserve that much credit. Sure the basics up to Algebra I are needed in life, as Rhea so incredibly pointed out, but there are some advanced mathematics out there that are really needed, again, quoting from the above post, meeting out finances, and other business-like activities.

November 7, 2007, 10:10 AM

In many ways, the benefit of learning about such concepts is not the actual concept, but rather the process. It teaches you to think abstractly and how to solve problems, challenging you to work out complicated logic, etc.

It's like running in place - it seems like you're not getting anywhere with it, but the value is in building strength and endurance - only with school, it's a matter of mental strength rather than physical.

December 10, 2007, 10:37 PM

ahem, two things:
identities of sin and cosine relations
rational exponents

when on earth, will we need to work with multiples of sine, cosine, cosecant and others squared and in barackets with a nice little negative sign between them?

and please, tell me if you will ever have a number with the exponent of 3/5 ?

sigh, I too remember some nights that were frustrating as hell and the teacher never checks the homework anyway.
Its not that I don't like this weird math, I just hate 2 hours of math work per night added to the rest of my subjects...

December 11, 2007, 5:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dagolu

ahem, two things:
identities of sin and cosine relations
rational exponents

when on earth, will we need to work with multiples of sine, cosine, cosecant and others squared and in barackets with a nice little negative sign between them?

and please, tell me if you will ever have a number with the exponent of 3/5 ?

sigh, I too remember some nights that were frustrating as hell and the teacher never checks the homework anyway.
Its not that I don't like this weird math, I just hate 2 hours of math work per night added to the rest of my subjects...

Wow, 2 hours? That's a little ridiculous. My Calc teacher only gave at most 45 min worth of work per night and more than half the class still got 5s. 2 hours is just overkill and can potentially burn people out before they get into the heavy stuff in college.

January 7, 2008, 11:56 PM

Completely Agreed, I mean, sure some subjects are handy, to a point (It is my belief that Physics is basically math, with a purpose)
Biology is useful for medical jobs
etc
But when you're learning Rational Functions, including functions including sine and cosine in them, why not just learn them in university or something? Or at least have them as part of a course that you can actually choose to do.

Sure, there's the whole, the more you do this math, the faster you'll be at doing math in everyday life like buying stuff at the supermarket, or perhaps, the more you learn about this, the faster you can do it elsewhere etc.

But if that was the idea, they might as well just give us Brain Age and have us train our minds that way.

Actually, I should probably suggest that, maybe we'll do something at least remotely fun