Is maths a waste of time?

WindSock · 27-11-2011 10:14PM

It was not one of my strongest subjects in school but I know I could have been better at it if I bothered, which I wasn't.
I thought it was a waste of time then, but I don't think it is a waste of time now. It is good for keeping your brain ticking by solving problems.

Chuck Stone · 27-11-2011 10:16PM

kjl wrote: »

eh, basic maths. The only maths you need to know for poker is the rule of 4 and 2.

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Stats helps to

kjl wrote: »

What do you think the rule of 4 and 2 is?

I don't use the rule of 2 & 4.

I use percentages.

MagicMarker · 27-11-2011 10:16PM

PseudoFamous wrote: »

Citations, please. We can't have you making wild assertions like that without sources to back you up.

I don't need citations, facts speak for themselves.*

*Also a FACT!!

Pherekydes · 27-11-2011 10:17PM

somefeen wrote: »

I think so, well the stuff I was taught in school was. I only have experience of it upto the Junior cert and I did foundation level.

Btw Im now doing a college course that involves alot of physics, maths, statistics and chemistry equations so thats what Im basing my opinion on.

Anyone wondering how the OP got into such a college course with foundation level junior cert maths?

starlit · 27-11-2011 10:19PM

No I don't think maths is a waste of time if anything its part of a life skill to have some idea how to add/subtract/multiply and divide! Very important!

Maths is hard but when it comes to the leaving cert its extremely important to be able to do. If doing so in college then its worthwhile getting to grips with it as best you can if you might have it as part of a career.

In the line of maths, business/economics/accounting/statistics, physics, science and engineering, Maths is very much a requirement to know and be able to do.

This world would be lost without Maths as well as being lost without English/Grammar. Though we wouldn't be all that lost without Irish though!

PseudoFamous · 27-11-2011 10:19PM

MagicMarker wrote: »

I don't need citations, facts speak for themselves.*

*Also a FACT!!

I don't think you've ever submitted a report.. If you're going to say something like the first comment, you should always say something like "it is common understanding that", rather than "FACT!!" if you want to try and bluff through a paper. In my opinion, it looks less.. insane.

somefeen · 27-11-2011 10:20PM

Pherekydes wrote: »

Anyone wondering how the OP got into such a college course with foundation level junior cert maths?

I dont have a clue either boy, they must of been having an off day in admissions. Funny story though, I never actually got a formal offer of a place.

Daniel S · 27-11-2011 10:20PM

As someone who was hopeless at maths:

I failed every exam in HL Maths during the Leaving Cert, apart from the 5th year summer test and the real exam, which I got 40% and a D3 respectively.

Thankfully I could see how important maths is, I persisted with it and I'm doing mechanical engineering now

F1 here I come!

*don't worry, I've worked at my maths and I'm not too bad at it anymore so there's no immediate danger*

PseudoFamous · 27-11-2011 10:21PM

somefeen wrote: »

Funny story though, I never actually got a formal offer of a place.

So.. you're just sitting in on the lectures, without permission. Explains a lot.

muppetkiller · 27-11-2011 10:23PM

foundation level junior cert maths ?? How on earth did you get into a Heavy Maths based college course ? It sounds like you took on Computer Science/Physics from your Subject lists but when I did that course we were proving things like einstein's theory of relativity was wrong...
Foundation Level maths you're asked if there are two Trees in a Garden and you don't do anything to them...how many trees have you left lol.

MagicMarker · 27-11-2011 10:23PM

somefeen wrote: »

I dont have a clue either boy, they must of been having an off day in admissions. Funny story though, I never actually got a formal offer of a place.

You're saying you got into college without doing maths past the JC?

I call shenanigans on that one.

somefeen · 27-11-2011 10:23PM

PseudoFamous wrote: »

So.. you're just sitting in on the lectures, without permission. Explains a lot.

Nope I have a lab coat and I've sat exams and everything

harvester of sorrow · 27-11-2011 10:25PM

PseudoFamous wrote: »

So you were a dosser in school, decided "Maths is stupid, I'm not learning it because it'll never come in handy in the real world". Now, you're doing a college course, and you see how it's used in the real world, and see a point in it.

Are you just confused in general?

How did you come to the conclusion the op was a dosser?
Im confused...

J K · 27-11-2011 10:26PM

MagicMarker wrote: »

If we stopped teaching primary school kids how to speak Irish and say prayers and instead taught extra maths then the country wouldn't be in the state it's in.

FACT!!

PseudoFamous wrote: »

Citations, please. We can't have you making wild assertions like that without sources to back you up.

Maybe you could follow the basic logic of this point if you had of studied more maths in primary school

starlit · 27-11-2011 10:26PM

Daniel S wrote: »

As someone who was hopeless at maths:

I failed every exam in HL Maths during the Leaving Cert, apart from the 5th year summer test and the real exam, which I got 40% and a D3 respectively.

Thankfully I could see how important maths is, I persisted with it and I'm doing mechanical engineering now

F1 here I come!

*don't worry, I've worked at my maths and I'm not too bad at it anymore so there's no immediate danger*

I was the same. Had a hard time with the maths myself but I got there in the end with sheer hard work. Once I got nearer to Leaving Cert I worked my bum off just to pass it at ordinary level but not only did I pass it I got a fantastic result better than my English and normally did better in English than Maths when I were in school! With persistence I got there in the end despite failing my maths on the odd test throughout school! Got grinds so that helped me a lot.

If anything my leaving cert maths has still stuck with me. I still remembered stuff when I went to college. Had to do business maths/statistics so was handy from that point of view. Took a while for it all to come back to me but once it did I excelled again in the ould maths couldn't believe it that I was doing so well in it in college.

Yet there are times I might need to look back over my times tables again and learn to count change properly!!!

Daniel S · 27-11-2011 10:27PM

somefeen wrote: »

Nope I have a lab coat and I've sat exams and everything

Ah well in that case....

laugh · 27-11-2011 10:28PM

Why not live in a world where everybody uses more and more complex technology and only a small fraction of society has the faintest how any of it works!

somefeen · 27-11-2011 10:29PM

No I even have a card to get into the building and an academic advisor and a student number

starlit · 27-11-2011 10:31PM

The square root of blah, function of, hypotheses theorem and demorgan's theorems mean anything other than accountancy and maths formulas....

Daniel S · 27-11-2011 10:31PM

somefeen wrote: »

No I even have a card to get into the building and an academic advisor and a student number

Reminds me of this:
Del boy: I've even have a lifesaving certificate.
Rodney: It's not his though.

:pac:

Daniel S · 27-11-2011 10:34PM

To be honest, they should divide up the maths courses for people. I'm more engineering/logic/"If I can see it I'll understand it/mechanics based while others lean towards theorms/theoretical maths. Then there should be maths you will need on a day to day basis.

For example:
Engineering Maths
General Maths
Theoretical Maths
Computing/Sequence and series/binary maths.

J K · 27-11-2011 10:38PM

Daniel S wrote: »

To be honest, they should divide up the maths courses for people. I'm more engineering/logic/"If I can see it I'll understand it/mechanics based while others lean towards theorms/theoretical maths. Then there should be maths you will need on a day to day basis.

For example:
1 Engineering Maths
2 General Maths
3 Theoretical Maths
4 Computing/Sequence and series/binary maths.

maths ÷ 4

kjl · 27-11-2011 10:52PM

Chuck Stone wrote: »

I don't use the rule of 2 & 4.

I use percentages.

As sure as I am that you count up all your outs divide them by 47 and multiply by 100, but 4 and 2 is much faster. Although, at this point I pretty much know them without calculating. Anyway, nowadays pot odds don't matter a diddle to the game.

Robert McGrath · 27-11-2011 10:52PM

Maths is not a waste of time in itself but the advanced level of maths that is compulsory in Irish schools is.

99.9% of people will be adequately equipped to excel in their future careers by knowing how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and know how fractions and percentages work. The rest is only specifically relevant to those who will pursue something in the sciences.

I agree that critical thinking and problem solving are important skills for everybody. So why not add "Critical thinking and problem solving" as a specific subject to the school curriculum, instead of crossing our fingers and hoping these skills will be an accidental by-product of an incredibly abstract maths course?

For what it's worth, I got an A1 in Honours Maths in the leaving and have a Maths degree as well, so this is not a bitter "it was toooooo haaaaard!" rant ...

rcaz · 27-11-2011 11:12PM

Robert McGrath wrote: »

Maths is not a waste of time in itself but the advanced level of maths that is compulsory in Irish schools is.

99.9% of people will be adequately equipped to excel in their future careers by knowing how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and know how fractions and percentages work. The rest is only specifically relevant to those who will pursue something in the sciences.

Most people wouldn't know what they really want to do coming out of school though. So if someone does maths in school, goes and does a non-mathematical college course or anything else, and then realises ten years later they'd like to study maths, they'll be pretty pleased realising they already know some basic calculus and algebra.

Also, being exposed to some of the more abstract concepts in school is the first, maybe only, time a teenager would get to hear that stuff. I'm in my final year of a theoretical physics course at the moment and I don't think I'd be interested in this stuff if I didn't get to see the basics in school.

somefeen · 27-11-2011 11:17PM

I know what a function is

carvaggio · 27-11-2011 11:26PM

Was it, collect 12 crisp packets and go to college?

kowloon · 27-11-2011 11:33PM

Trig. is one of the few things I learnt in school that I've actually used. I haven't spoken a word of Irish or needed to discuss a poem.
Not knocking the other subjects, but I think basic maths and little understanding of business are essential to everyday living.

anto_daly · 27-11-2011 11:42PM

maths is needed in everyday situations, for example , friend asks '' are ya goin pub tonight?'' , it depends on the value of X, i know i need a formula to go out tonight, 2x+ 3y=? , i know how about, money + pub + mates= good night

Yahew · 27-11-2011 11:43PM

somefeen wrote: »

Nah boy what Im saying is I did foundation level for the junior cert which was stuff like "count these squares" and "48-22". I did it because I found ordinary level too difficult. Never did the leaving cert but im getting on alright in university on a science degree course. So does it really matter if someone is ****e at maths when they apply for these courses

somefeen wrote: »

I dont have a clue either boy, they must of been having an off day in admissions. Funny story though, I never actually got a formal offer of a place.

Robert McGrath wrote: »

Maths is not a waste of time in itself but the advanced level of maths that is compulsory in Irish schools is.

99.9% of people will be adequately equipped to excel in their future careers by knowing how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and know how fractions and percentages work. The rest is only specifically relevant to those who will pursue something in the sciences.

I agree that critical thinking and problem solving are important skills for everybody. So why not add "Critical thinking and problem solving" as a specific subject to the school curriculum, instead of crossing our fingers and hoping these skills will be an accidental by-product of an incredibly abstract maths course?

For what it's worth, I got an A1 in Honours Maths in the leaving and have a Maths degree as well, so this is not a bitter "it was toooooo haaaaard!" rant ...

This is all pretty scary stuff. Maths, of the leaving cert HL variety, is essential for general science and engineering, it should be a pre-resquite for Computer Science as well ( even if you just need logic as a software programmer), it is essential to banking, economics, metrology, and finance. Everybody should know statistics.

Or, more clearly, it is essential to the modern part of the modern world. It has to be taught, therefore, to that level in school because college is not the place to hand-hold people.

If Irish science courses have people who are not good at maths, then the complaints from our multinational companies that they can't get indigenous talent ring true. Eventually they will leave leaving the non-mathematical minds to build houses, sell breakfast rolls to house builders, sell real estate, sell cars to contraction workers and real estators emigrate.

Is maths a waste of time?

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