After this topic: If a 66% yoyo is 66% for each dimension, then isn’t it much smaller than 66% of the original size?
I thought I’d ask:
Probably not a lot of people that fit this category, but do any of you guys enjoy/are good at math? I recently started studying math outside of class, here’s a problem set I just did from a book called “Linear Algebra Done Wrong” by Sergei Treil.
5 Likes
I love math! I’ll finished Calc 3 last semester, and I’ll be taking linear algebra in the fall.
2 Likes
Nice, Calc 3 is fun! Unfortunately my Calc 3 class was very badly taught, so I still have to finish some of the stuff from it.
1 Like
Calc 3 is definitely one of the hardest math classes I’ve had. My mind doesn’t like math in 3D. 
I also dabbled in the calculus of variations as a senior in high school, although it was only the basics, mainly the Euler-Lagrange equation.
1 Like
My calc 3 class was actually too easy. No proofs, just plug and chug from some example problems…
You did calculus of variations in class or on your own?
1 Like
I wish we didn’t have to do proofs in my Calc 3 class 
I worked on CoV independently over the course of a couple of months, mainly because I had to learn a lot of new concepts that weren’t taught in AP Calc BC.
I like math and am sufficient enough at it, but im not advanced enough for any of those questions, lol. The highest I took was Calc I
1 Like
I see an R in there so no enthusiasm here. More like complete respect for people that can actually calculate that stuff. Unless I can put it in a formula and place it on a chart or build it myself, math kills me. I bow to you math wizards.
2 Likes
Math is a joy.
2 Likes
What sort of math brings you joy?
1 Like
As an undergrad I doubled majored in Religious Studies (concentration in Asian Religions and Philosophies) and Mathematics. I went straight from undergrad into a Ph.D. program in Mathematics, but in order to complete my degree I would have needed to devote all of my time to my studies for longer than I was willing to do. I was more devoted to a band I was in at the time, and making music in general. Once my funding dried up, I left grad school with an M.A. in Mathematics and I’ve been making my living doing math ever since.
4 Likes
I think number theory is my favorite field. Linear algebra is maybe less fun, but much more “useful.”
2 Likes
I enjoy math outside of class, but mostly because I enjoy programming. Lol my TI-84+ can do all the equations, the darn thing is so easy to program and I had a ton of fun problem-solving the equations to make them work on a calculator. I enjoyed geometry and trigonometry in high school, only math I’ve taken in college was statistics and that was hellish, but idk if that was the math’s fault or my teacher’s fault.
Have you seen Numberphile on YouTube? Their videos are awesome.
3 Likes
I got my undergrad in Math way back in '95. I love math and still work with math, my first job was in high performance computing, then in the late 90’s I moved into computer security. Then I was a contractor for about 15 years. Now I’m a senior researcher in computer security, with a lot of my time being spent on applying machine learning to my field.
3 Likes
El oh el… math. #calculatorsorsmarterpeopleallday
No thank you.
Very fortunate I only had to complete Statistics for my undergrad and stats on crack in grad.
6 years with only 2 math classes.
Thank goodness.
Much respect to everyone who enjoys math.
2 Likes
Numberphile is great, and so is Matt Parker’s stuff.
2 Likes
I was up way too late last night watching Numberphile after reading this thread 
I hadn’t watched that in a while, but this thread reminded me of it. A lot of the concepts they talk about are way over my head since I haven’t taken any higher level math classes, but they present the info in really interesting ways and make it fairly easy to understand.
1 Like
Yeah, they have stuff at different levels of accessibility, but it would be nice if they could let you know beforehand how advanced the math is.
1 Like
The one Numberphile video where they proved that 1+2+3+…=-1/12 was awesome (and not too hard to understand), but I heard it’s also inaccurate, does anyone know if their proof was right or wrong?
2 Likes
I haven’t seen that one, but that’s a well known relationship that has use in string theory. It’s obviously not true in that simple format, but in certain contexts it makes sense.
I’ll have to watch it when I get a chance.
1 Like