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Stop Trying to Understand Math, Do THIS Instead
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- čas přidán 16. 08. 2024
- Sometimes it's really hard to understand a particular topic. You spend hours and hours on it and it just doesn't click. In this video I talk about what you should do when this happens. I hope this helps someone.
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Thank you:)
My man just said:
"Stop trying to understand math, go outside"
And I like it
touch grass and stop worrying about Hilbert spaces
Lmao, I'm about to throw hands with Linear Algebra with 1 & 2variables, Hilbert spaces better back up
Long live procastination
i've been on walk for months still cant understand lol. going for a walk again. see ya later thanks
@@anchalpandey9074 You are going for the good way. In the first year of walking, you will begin to perceive how mathematical knowledge rains down on you from nowhere.
I was never particularly good at math my whole life. But I focused on what I could do and today I am PhD in engineering. You can do it guys.
Hell yeah
that's very candid of you! at good engineering schools, engineers often have more math requirements than some Math majors, and for a reason--we actually have to use it in the real world! glad that you overcame your struggles, & maybe you're just being modest, but either way great model for other aspiring engineers to look up to
That is so awesome, since you have a PhD and I love engineering, I would love to read some of your peer-reviewed papers. What is your name sir and how can we find your work?
@@consig1iere294 nice call out lol
@@consig1iere294 Hahaha, amazing. He’s not gonna reply.
The "why" was my issue with math. It drove me crazy and made me falsely believe that I was bad at math. Then something I never could have imagined happened. I was in a low level college algebra class that I needed for my bachelor of science degree, and I was _struggling_ hard. My mom had a friend who was a high school math teacher who offered to tutor me. I went to her, but without much hope. Two hours later I walked out of her home understanding algebra like I never had before. From that point on I made A's and B's in math and never needed another tutor session.
My moms friend didn't perform magic. What she did was teach me WHY by using analogies. That is how my brain processes apparently, and once I understood the larger concept (in analogous terms) behind what I was being asked to do, it all clicked. From this experience my suspicion is that people who say they are bad at math, but who are otherwise above average in intelligence, are not being taught math the way that their brain processes information. If more math professors were taught to offer simple analogies and even a few storylines to teach math concepts, we would have many more people excelling at least to the undergraduate college algebra level.
most people are bad at math because the teachers are trash.
WHAT WAS THE ANALOGY? I DONT GET IT
Please share the analogies you learned I have a D in my algebra class with a quiz coming up and I don’t understand anything🙏🏾
same problem i have like if teacher solving the question i always be like WHY ..why will we do this particular thing in this question ...and sadly i hv still stuck between this WHY everytime.
Tell us, please
Math has broken me down to tears in school. I’ve struggle with it my whole life. I needed to hear this. Maybe it will help me get the confidence back to get some degrees.
I'm still broke
Same
Me too
You can do it. learn what you can and keep learning. Try and realise that learning is fun. It won’t be easy but you’ll grow as a person and so will your knowledge and you might surprise yourself for how far you have come.
Things may be harder for you to understand compared to others or the other way around. But why should that stop you or anyone. What makes someone great isn’t never falling, it’s how they recover from a fall. Don’t just lie on the dirt after a fall, get up, get up and show the world and yourself what you can do. Because we can all achieve great things.
It was terrible advice. People stop trying to understand math and then we get a society with conspiracy theorists, flatearthers and people with imaginary friends. You want to understand math not because you want to do Lorentz transformations in your free time, but because you want to have critical thinking.
I think it's fair to say that the experience of confusion is a sign that your brain is actually working and learning. I try to remind myself that the sensation of "not getting it" is a good thing; it means my mind is being challenged with something new. If your mind is comfortable it's probably not learning anything new.
What a great comment, I totally agree. Thank you for posting this:)
I loved this comment
Awwww he is giving up, in the end, what is math used for if it just numbers in your face thinking about how the real way it works but there is no meaning for math is there, we will never know until someone else gets it and we the people who look like the failure trying to decypher math since countries ago
I'm not sure if he was referring to not getting how to solve a problem, or not getting WHY you solve it that way. The latter is always my problem. I can follow instructions, we all can. But I NEED to get it!! I need to intuitively, on some level, understand why I'm using a certain approach, what it means, what it implies geometrically or analytically. You know?
I guess we're all that way? I feel like I can't possibly move forward in the course if I don't understand every concept along the way.
If it's not learning anything "new" Then it already a genius!!!!!
John von Neumann once was approached by a student after class who said "Professor, I don't understand the math you're using". Von Neumann answered: "Young man, one doesn't understand mathematics. One only gets used to it".
Haha love that
It's so true
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Good one! That implies that a significant portion of becoming good at math is to practice a lot, and not spend too much time on theory. Of course, one cannot practice if one doesn't know the theory. But, one shouldn't let theory to slow one down.
@@amirmahallati3414 Can't one practice theory?
This guy is so passionate! It's so inspiring
Summary:
don't spend too much time on a problem
refresh ur mind
interleave, do something different
realise it's okay to be stuck
but not stay stuck
I am studying mathematics with an interest in physics. However, the math is presently beyond my understanding. I have been hitting a road block with derivatives of trigonometric functions and identities. But inconsistent study habits and back tracking to review math concepts slowed me down. Your advice to just move on is valuable. After looking at more advanced material, I can see the relevance of what I was trying to learn and it started to make sense. Persistence is the key. You have not failed until you stop trying. By the way, I am 73 years of age with over 40 years in the computer field.
could you elaborate on your time in the tech field, if you don't mind?
I've never been good at math in high school and I never got the help I needed at the time. 6 years later I'm really fighting to accept that I am just 'bad' at math. And I am looking to get a degree in my current field of software development because a diploma is not enough for me. And getting a degree is another thing that I really feel I need to achieve. I started with math again as its part of the admission requirements for any comp sci field, I really hope I can do this 🥺
@@Haniefatries_ focus on linear algebra (matrices and vectors) thats what compsci needs most.
and if you are doing 3d graphics linear algebra is pretty much compulsory.
@@Haniefatries_ congratulations and keep pushing .
@@chrism6446 lol most likely
Neil deGrasse Tyson said in an interview about calculus: "If you don't understand something immediately, it doesn't mean you're not good at it".
This quote has given me sooo much motivation in my mathematics journey.
Too bad "immediate understanding" is what schools expect of you.
@@BeekersSqueakers Yeah exactly
No, it means u better work your ass of on it. LoL.
I have learned so much on my own after high school.
@@kun_fu_taco4775 Lol same, found a book and followed it. Learned a lot more on my own then in school.
I'm studying mathematics at a relatively prestigious university and the workload is TOUGH man, both in terms of volume and difficulty. I just wanted to say that your videos are so wholesome and they are a big source of motivation for me to keep going, keep studying, keep being curious.
👍
@@TheMathSorcerer facts
@@TheMathSorcerer thanks i have the same problem in coding
Ironically it’s those prestigious universities that tend to kill people’s passion for math, be careful to not get sucked into the hype my friend.
@@RENCIOL What makes you say that?
I believe the key to learn math (specially abstract topics) is to accept that you ain't gonna understand anything but, you'll get used to it. The more you practice, the more you get used to a concept and thus you will develop "your own" understanding/intuition of a topic.
That's what I did for analytical geometriy 😂
Practice develops the muscle memory to do Math problems
My struggle is that I can't practice without understanding it though unless it's very basic just fill in the formula type of math. If I go to a lecture, work through the material (which is practically impossible if you don't understand it) and start with the assignment... well, what then? Unless it is a math problem that we have done already the exact same way in the lecture, I just blank. I can google for hours but still nothing. "Just practice" worked super well for me in school, I ended up as the best student in math with a straight A on my final exam but advanced math/comp science at the university just destroys me at the moment. Sorry for the vent, just casually breaking down here.
So true. I know for me there were times, particularly in my various physics classes, where I got caught up in trying to understand the why, finally just learned the math with understanding why the math worked. And then found that as I trusted the math I just got used to the physics concept to where it made sense.
@@GeoRedtickI am sucker for trying to understand it too much and not accepting it as true. Do you feel that you find those concepts that you let yourself practice actually make sense now? Could you answer those questions that you had prior?
the problem is that in the classroom, especially during that traumatic time known as high-school years, math and other sciences are taught like something more similar to military training with live ammunition. there is no room for mistakes under fire, and especially when failiure in math and science is often viewed as a sign of failiure in life, there is a huge difference between this relaxed attitude and the pressure put on students in real time. to some extent, you can say the same about any field of study in the classroom, that there is no time for any deep engagement with the subject, if the top priority is getting good grades and pleasing others with them. from parents and teachers to future employers.
nicely wrapped up...I am sure that by this messed up concept there is damn much potential lost.
Was always taught never to give up....this is very ...liberating
❤️
Well, especially when taking a test -- "I'll come back for this one later". Really, it once really saved my ass during a Calculus I midterm, that I didn't even know what Question Two was asking, but then the second to last problem was almost the same thing but set up differently, but in a way it EXPLAINED what I was to do for Problem Two. Heck, examples can go back years.... remember back in Algebra when you still couldn't see Dif Squares and Complete Square Identities a mile away.... just Come Back To It Later is just the thing for coming back and Seeing What You Missed Before.
I remember I used to spend hours (3 or 4 sometimes even more) trying to prove some induction problems, every day I tried so hard but I wasn't able to solve them, I didn't want to give up but eventually I did, and I started to wonder what is wrong and so on, I realized my algebra background wasn't good so I spend winter holidays to get better at algebra something like 1 o 2 months, when I got back at those problems everything was so clear now, I was able to solve them in less than 30 minutes.
The lesson was, learn to when give up, you cannot fight all your battles.
Yeah, I've learned not to fight the idea that I need to do some review. If I'm blocked for more than a few seconds, I get up and get the old book and flip to the section and go through the examples. the more you review, the less you need to review.
That makes more sense when i see guts in your profile
Ya that happened to me with the induction inequality proofs. I didn’t really get those until like a year after seeing them.
Something a Guts profile picture would say.
i thought it's just me that have a really2 long time to prove induction problems,and it's not bcs im dull,like i can understand concepts quickly than my friends,but yes maybe i need to move on
“It’s okay to not understand.” That’s really good advice on all things. Thank you ❤
🧡 Super helpful advice! Thank you. I'm a math major and these are things that I wish I had done. Right on!
I just want to add: The more you immerse yourself in math, the more you get it. The more you get it, the more you love it. The more you love it, the more you want to learn. This is such an amazing cycle!!! 🧡
“Young man, in mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them.”
― John von Neumann
Rote memorization can be an efficient stepping stone towards recognition. Understanding is RE-cognition at flash-lightning speed. It's that state of mind when being reminded of a problem in that same moment causes your brain to automatically summon forth the related solution(s). But to be reminded of something, you need to first drop it out from of your focus, and think about something else entirely; it's difficult to see the wave pattern produced by a dropping a single pebble in turbulant waters.
Recognition is how the human mind builds speed and confidence for evoking relevant memories.
@@jose-pe It's a quote.
i love how this comment is right under the one it was stolen from (for me right now). cmon man, don’t repost a comment for likes, they’re just worthless numbers
Literally the advise my prof told me today when we asked him how to come up with that approach to solve a specific integral he just showed us. Told us we will get used to integrals, though we probably would never have come up with that solution on our own as it took a long time to be discovered xD
I thought you were going to start singing the YMCA song
this brought me to tears. after an incredibly frustrating relationship with math this is what i needed to hear. i was going to drop my class and change my major because i'm feeling so beat down and stupid trying to learn calc. thank you.
Your teacher is everything for calculus imo
Khan academy works better than college lectures for me. Hope it helps you too.
I felt the same but it was because the class was tanking my grades. Not because I physically couldn't understand it but because I did not see the point in memorizing Taylor series
@Dr Rock ? Why did you say that? Nothing in that person's comment implied they didn't take algebra, geometry and trig.
I am abysmal at maths! I am a brilliant speller, and an excellent writer. I aspire to be a novelist. I score highly on everything else.
Find out what works best for you.
This is GOLD standard advice. When I'm not able to get intuitive idea or visualize a particular formula after trying for a while. I simply move on to solving problems, as time passes it eventually starts hitting you the "why" behind a formula
Issac Newton? Is that you?!?!?!?!
😂😂❤
"Just take a walk. Go for a long walk."
Me: **has two Calculus assignments due in a few hours** Well, that's not happening...
XD
Opens door to go outside only to see someone getting gunned down
Wow, all of a sudden I feel the urge to study
@@diags_1109 wtf bro
walking is honestly the only thing that works for me. walk while unpacking your thoughts
I feel sorry for you dude 😂
I legitimately hate it when a professor states that a problem is “easy” or “straightforward” and I’m on the other side struggling to figure out what’s going on. I think it would help a lot of math teachers/professors to get through to their students if they put things into perspective from the majority that truly struggle with understanding the concepts. That’s why I appreciate your videos, Math Sorcerer. You’re constantly letting the audience know that math is hard and it takes a lot of time and practice. It reminds people like myself that it is okay to struggle on this topic and just as long as you keep at it, you will improve, and that is ultimately what it is all about. Are you better today than you were yesterday? When I assess my math skills today relative to a year ago, I could honestly say yes. It’s important not to lose site of that measurement when times get tough and you’re struggling trying to learn a new mathematical concept.
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I think most professors lack that ability to motivate through just empathising with struggles of students. Most professors aren't like this channel.
Empathy is the single most important skill a math teacher must possess. the absolute worst teachers of math are the people who were naturally gifted at it. They cannot understand, appreciate, or empathize with the struggles of others. They should not be the ones teaching math at all. In my opinion, mathematicians should be barred from teaching math below the level of Differential Equations. Engineers and others should be hired as math teachers instead, people with practical understanding of its applications, who have struggled themselves, and who possess empathy.
The curse of knowledge supresses their empathy
@@thecryovproject no, that's not it. They lack empathy to begin with. Empathy tends to grow with knowledge, not diminish.
Those who become mathematicians, tend to be those who never struggled with math growing up. They never struggled as their students do/will. They can't understand why students don't understand things, because they never struggled with it. To them concepts came easily, and too often they only know one right way to solve problems, their way. The Way that came so easy to them, even if that way is a more complicated way to solve things.
Teachers who also learned math through struggle make better teachers. They can see how a student is stumbling, recognize the struggle with a given concept, as they once experienced it as well. They can explain the problem in different ways, to help the student understand.
I was identified as a gifted child early on, and the bad side of that is that everything comes easily for quite awhile. This advice is particularly good for people like me, because we all reach a point where things no longer come naturally. For me it was AP Calculus my senior year of high school (which I failed for this very reason even though I got an A in every single math class before it). When you are trained as a child that things shouldn't be frustrating or hard to understand, it can be extremely difficult to unlearn that pattern of behavior. As good as this advice is, I anticipate that I will still have a very hard time putting it into practice. My life is not so good now and I attribute a lot of this to never developing any sort of frustration tolerance as a child.
Also, I'm going back to college for a computer science degree at the young age of 36, so I made sure to subscribe to your channel. Something tells me that your advice and teachings will prove invaluable as I tackle math that is very difficult. :)
Yeah, apparently your parents didn't challenge you enough as a kid and wanted the easiest route so you keep quiet and they don't deal with your screaming or crying for not getting the shiny thing you are after and they have more free time to themselves instead of raising a kid right. That's why you can quit without consequences. Most people HAVE TO get it right. Their lives depend on getting it right. There's no mom and dad to enable them or sugarcoat things for them. The conclusion is: Privilege makes people lazy and unaccomplished.
@@DiamondsRexpensive wouldnt draw this conclusion
@@DiamondsRexpensive well that's true for me
@@Arthur90 if you actually have a better conclusion, present it so I can change my mind.
Thank you for really pushing the point that it's ok to not understand or not get it. I think there is this misconception that if you're good at math, it comes easy to you and if it doesn't you shouldn't be doing it. Thank you so much for that.
I needed this. I just failed calculus2. I’m a single mom, have to get through these math classes to get a good career t support my munchkin and I. I am so bad about planting myself and forcing myself into attempting to understand before moving on. And then I have spent hours on one problem out of 50. I definitely need to spend more time doing problems and less trying to understand. That is such a hard mind shift for me. I’m going to do it! Lol!
You can do it😀
Hello, much love to you and your child, I'm happy for you, you're doing great, I wish you the best on your journey, joyful learning and living fully.
Have a splendid time ahead🌻❤️🍀
@@expectopatronum6241 hi expecto, nice name
@@mamabear3610 thanks!
Beeing a single mum must put a lot of pressure on top of studying.
Doing a lot of problems and choosing the right problem so you are still challenged but don't get stuck is hard. Personally i like to learn in groups. Solving and explaining your solution gives you a deeper understanding for principles, so you are less likely to get stuck.
😅 also a good portion of exams is just to get things up to speed because you don't have the time to think twice, something only practice can do.
1. Manage your Time
2. Pivot(Go for a walk just try to focus on any thing else)
3. step back and do something else
4.Its okay to Get stuck (My insight: It's okay to get stuck but its not okay to remain stuck)
5.(My advice: generally clear your concept the problems generally their solutions are simple but not easy they take sheer amount of how much did your understood your concept then that is applied inside of an question)
Stoic X, I'm honestly not trying to be a jerk, believe me. But in your #5, I got the sense that you were saying something very useful for all of us. But for the life of me, I couldn't comprehend it. Could punctuation clear it up? I'm not sure. But could you give it a second crack? I'm all ears! (Btw, #1 - #4 were quite useful...thank you).
@stoicx. Thanks for the summary 😃. I would be also very grateful if you could rephrase the fifth point. It seems there is a good idea behind an accidentally misformulated sentence.
❤
@@dodgecrockett3474I think they meant, understand how a concept is used in a question(?) Idk for sure though 🥲
This is what I needed. I always thought about it. The more I stop caring, the more I do better at applying math. It occurred to me after I started taking treatment for my ADHD, where I would focus WAY too much on trying to understand. Thanks for this, I feel very confident moving forward to my Uni Grad and future personal studies.
Wait so what else would happen? I have adhd too
Beautiful advice! Still remember my uni days solving a Maths problem for days and not moving ahead, telling myself the story that I won't leave any weak material in my foundation. At the end of the day, it was pure intellectual ego, which harmed me more than it benefited me. There were times when I was able to come up with some unique solutions, but there were other times when my obsession for "solving" everything, led me to even depression where I thought I wasn't good enough because I couldn't solve a problem! It would take just one unsolved problem for weeks to make me forget all the other times when I came up with something good. I would suddenly sink into the blackhole of believing that I was stupid. Once I lost a complete year chasing the dream of being a perfect Mathematician!
Beautiful advice from you here. The most important words in one's life if you are suffering because you can't get something- LET GO!
I think walking is a wonderful way of practising letting go of things. Meditation is another beautiful thing. May all be free from suffering.
This reminds me the famous Feynman quote:
“You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear or read a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while there will be a hit, and people will say, “How did he do it? He must be a genius!”
I found myself practicing that for whatever I study and for many study subjects in parallel. Never give up any - but take a break and continue with another one from which you effectively just took a break. Often understanding more about another problem gives you inspiration or even a hint for another one in the back of your mind. This way you are always busy with what is important to you and you are never even tempted to give up any of them. It’s very productive, efficient and satisfying 🤓
This is great advice. I used to feel bad that I wanted to learn so many different things, thinking I *had to* choose one and stick to it. It helps to realize that they are all related in some way and even if they're not immediately applicable to one another there is still a connection. Also whenever I go back to a subject I always come in with more information than before, and because I can't help but want to learn more about it, I keep coming back to it.
@@whyyes6554 Yes, indeed. Maybe getting stuck is at times just a hint not to study further in depth but “horizontally”.
I agree. Just give it time. Knowledge acquisition is not a discrete event, it's not a step function. You rarely go from "not knowing" to "knowing" just like that. Just give it time for hard mathematical concepts or ideas to grow inside your brain.
unless you have a truly good math teacher who explains it properly and simply, but they are rare.
I remember crying every night before my math exams as a kid. It intimidated me so much. It still does to this day. But here I am, willing to try again because it is one of the main subjects in an exam that'll get me into my dream career. Thank you for this video ❤
This is the exact thing I’ve needed to hear my whole life. Have devoted 2024 to learning to LOVE math, it is a beautiful subject of study and I have always felt drawn and inspired by mathematics and those who are passionate about it. The concept of learning math in a non linear direction has been monumental for my belief in my own capabilities. I’m working now on filling the cracks and resettling my foundation and will build from there. I heard recently “brick walls are only there to prove to yourself that you want it bad enough”.
As an engineering student, this is great advice. Not only can I apply it to my maths class, but basically my whole schedule.
AJ Brewer, why is everybody saying maths lately? You're like the 6th person this week to make the same typo.
@@dodgecrockett3474In my experience it is more common to use the term "maths" rather than "math" in the UK. That could be why.
@@mimpton8861, what do you mean by UK ?
@@dodgecrockett3474 The United Kingdom.
@@nicolasgruter6722, I just looked that up. Apparently it's just a pseudonym for England.
I like the fact that you say: Go for a walk if it's safe to do so. We sometimes take security for granted.
People keep teaching formulas but not break down how they work.
This is what I did to get a 95 percentile on the GMAT and a 99 percentile on the Indian version of the gmat, called the CAT. Go through a chapter 3 times on 3 different occasions during the week. On every attempt you’ll see yourself noticing previously overlooked concepts. Used to do this during my school days. That’s how my basics became crystal clear. But I know lotsa students doing the same before their entrance tests. Secondly, trust yourself, some folks are naturally gifted and pick up stuff on their first attempt while you may do the same on your third. Doesn’t really matter, because at whatever level of school you’re in, the quantity of chapter’s to study will always be finite. And once you’ve gone through the entire syllabus, no one will be able to tell the difference. Best of luck for you’re exams. Cheers 🍻
Thanks dude I needed this
That's so true. :,,,,,,)
That’s actually really good advice
My BS in math prepared me for the GMAT. I did not study for it. It is what I would expect anyone with a math degree should know.
That's not even maths. It's just a set of mindless simple calculations in a short time... Perhaps your achievement is important for you, but it is irrelevant for the current discussion where we are talking about "understanding maths" not "being better than 99% students to get a lucrative job".
Thanks! I always doubt my own intelligence whenever I don't get something and I'm too embarrassed to ask questions. I wish more math professors and teachers had your mindset
Hey. I’m a senior at college and I’ve been having a hard time with mathematics. I’m so glad that I stumbled upon this video.
For the past year, I’ve been telling myself that if I don’t understand something, that’s my temperament. But it’s not.
I will always use this video to remind me that it’s ok. This will really help me.
"You need to work hard to do math"
My lazy ass: well fuck...
I can 100% vouch for walking. I've come back to programming and math after a long long while (a decade) and as usually happens you find yourself banging your head against a wall, trying to wrestle solutions out that just won't come. For whatever reason, going for a walk for an hour or so, even with some music on (without vocals) just helps the mind to flow and organise itself. I refer to walking as 'defragging for the mind'. It doesn't just help with math but any kind of problem you have, personal, logistical. I come home from a walk peaceful, optimistic and usually with an action plan for solving my problem.
doesnt help when you have an assignment 2 days over due and are failing!!!
@@cat-ph3nr That's why you gotta study a decade ahead and do math at night instead of weedahol.
I agree with you on that. Let me add another piece to it. A source from HackTheBox said that you should take a break when you feel frustrated that you don't understand a topic or can't solve a problem, because doing so let's your subconscious mind try to solve the problem instead of you actively focusing on it.
From my experience this worked plenty of times.
Dr. Andrew Huberman (neuroscientist who focuses on neuroplasticity, search him) talked about this: during intense focus your brain marks synapses for change and the change only occurs when those synapses are not in use, basicly to learn you need to have intense focus on the thing you're learning and then the least amount of focus on that thing (sleep, taking a break and doing something else, etc.).
I can tell you’re a good teacher. Something the world needs more of in universities.
This is exactly how I feel, I’m currently struggling massively with the Binomial Theorem (I’m at advanced higher in Scotland which is the highest level before university) and this is just what I needed to hear.
This is like a God sent video. Because I am trying to understand complex analysis but not getting anywhere.... Thanks man
"Self study is so wonderful because you can pick any book, no one's forcing you"
In the time of pandemic, "Self study" meant totally different for us students or possibly just me. Here in my country where modular distance learning is a custom for education during this time, made self study really really hard.. not only did it change the definition of self study from studying what you want on your own to studying what is needed for school on your own.. and it really hit me hard specially on math, physics and biology
Are you studying biophysics in uni or smthn along the lines of that
facts bro especially here in my country,Philippines,I can't even understand the lessons and second i don't have time for studying
@@sherwin5773 bruh we live in the same country 🤣🤣 and ye its hard... Life is hard
@@RAiZEN_HiGH haha life is hard men, bruh my previous comment got deleted so this was my short response haha, I hope we will understand the meaning of life one day =)
I’m studying math on my own right now and I realize that for my entire academic life I have been placed in a box and not allowed to see the true beauty of math because of standardization.
How
@@nigelcardoso7653 Standardized education in math is studying for tests to get the grade, and if you get a passing grade it’s good, but you really don’t get to know math this way.
@TechWhat do you mean give an example? I just gave you an example.
@Tech Maybe you should pick up a dictionary and become well aquatinted with the definition of two words ‘example’ and ‘obtuse’. I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time with this.
@Tech obviously this is the hill you want to die on, which is sad, but I’ll give you the much needed ego boost that you’re seeking since it’s in short supply for so many nowadays. Being placed in a box means that in a math course there are boundaries set on how in-depth a student can go in their study of math. Those boundaries are time constraints as a result of students having to meet very specific metrics. Once those boundaries are lifted and math students are able to really take the time to explore mathematics in-depth. I hope this helps.
Thank you for this! I’ve been studying for an exam for 6 hours a day and just stepping back helps soooo much 🙏🏼
Giving up strategically to get the most out of your time is priceless advice.
I agree, it is ok to allow yourself to not understand something for this moment in time. I realized, I often understood some concept or something in math when I was not feverishly chasing it. I give up today but only to fight another day. Writing questions down in a book helps too. It allows you to move on and work on other important stuff too without being overly obsessed/concerned with the stuff you dont understand YET. Also as we learn and grow it allows us to attack the problem from different intellectual/mathematical directions. So instead of telling myself: you are too stupid to understand this, I say and believe I am not just ready yet, I will continue working and growing and at some point I will be ready :)
Thanks for the video upload
I really needed to hear this. It’s something I’m currently struggling with in my classes. Thank you so much for making this.
I got stuck on a problem in math while trying to sleep and went for a walk and it helped a lot, simple and really affective, thanks
Hi from the uk. I really enjoy and appreciate this site and I get so much encouragement from it. This guy is a one off and is clearly passionate about mathematics. I've been learning calculus on my own and wish my memory was better but like he says you may not always understand everything. One of the things I love about mathematics is its honesty and purity. Well done and much appreciated.
Thank you Sir. I'm learning computer science and it is so frustrating sometimes when I don't understand the theories. Most of the times I feel like everyone is ahead of me and I'm standing alone going nowhere but this video gave me a big advice, a mental relief and a breath of fresh air ❤️🍃
This is great advice. I tend to want to understand everything from first principles. When I was in college, I would get stuck thinking about what the prof just said when I should have just accepted it and moved on. That caused me to not catch what followed and then it just snowballs. I think it's best to just accept what is presented at the moment, don't panic, then move on. That's one piece of advice I wish I could go back and tell my younger self. A good example is the use of imaginary numbers to represent AC circuits. I racked my brain trying to understand how imaginary numbers related to anything "real" or "physical". It just blew my mind. Many years later I learned that it was just a mathematical convenience that made phase rotation easier through multiplication. That's it, nothing magic, just a "tool" that makes the math easier. And you always end up with "real" quantities because the "i" (or "j" as it's used in EE to distinguish from "i" which is already used to represent current) ultimately disappear from the result. So what used to puzzle me, now seems "beautifully clever". :)
Beautifully put
Jen’s mom Beth here; Thank you. When I was younger most things came easily. The deeper I became in any aspect or subject the complexity became confusing, I didn’t realize I should need to, or that it was okay to take more time to study. Taking a walk, or even a break, or eating a meal in the past made me sometimes feel like I didn’t quite measure up. I tend to hyper focus on things. I’m much older now and have perspective on each person’s ability and willingness to learn. As a life long learner I cannot tell you how important it is to be reminded that if you want to continue your passion it is just fine to take time and breathe.
great comment, thank you:)
I can attest to the effectiveness of this advice. I'm a software and electronic engineer, and when I'm stuck on a problem, breaking away and taking a walk, soaking in a bath*, or just switching to something else, has on hundreds (maybe thousands?) of occasions brought the solution to me. In fact it is just about guaranteed to open up, if not _the_ solution, an approach to get to the solution. This has worked over 90% of the time. I posit that during those times the brain is able to rest and allow the creative side to flow freely, unconsciously.
It took a long time for me to get this, as I used to naturally be very choleric and tenacious and would want to just pummel my way through it. By accident I started observing that breaking away from it was much more productive.
*I now call this "going to the think tank".
"It's okay to be stuck"
I'm paying this tuition myself, I literally cannot afford to be stuck on this material.
I feel you man, same.
Especially then you'd want to spend your time most efficiently.
But boring over a problem for too long isn't the most efficient way to solve it, according to this video.
I think the point here is that banging your head against the desk isn't going to work. When I don't understand something, I try to identify gaps in knowledge and fill those gaps, even if it's something basic or fundamental.
Studying all the time is not going make you learn more. Just be present in the learning environment.
when i get stuck solving anything, math engineering solution, etc, I just stop, get up, walk away. Even at work as an ME, I just stop and take a break. go for a walk, talk to someone else, go run an errand in town. Clear my head, try to prepare to come at it with a fresh perspective. Collaboration with others improves problem solving too. Some of the best solutions were achieved by working with 1 or 2 other people to solve it.
The way he describes this makes me realize that programming and maths are not so different. The way the connections grow exponentially with the size of the problem. And the way this forces you to decide how to use your time.
I was always bad at math , I luckily had college algebra and trigonometry with a community college profesor from Egypt , what I liked about him is he had patience to teach every detail of the problem you or someone was stuck on and would go over the exam reviews even after the exam review day by the end of trig I was actually enjoying doing math problems and felt confident going forward , I Passed both classes with high b’s and now I’m a junior at UNI majoring in construction management i owe that man a debt of gratitude 🙏 to me he and the guy in the video are prime examples of what a good teacher or professor should be
Going for a walk or doing some kind of exercise in general always helps. Your brain keeps working on the problem even if you're not actively thinking about it, and when I return to my work 2-3 hours later I almost always see the path to the solution or the solution itself.
Yeah I did that yesterday and it really helped!
Dr. Jones found that if he just sat down a solution would present itself. There is a truth to resting the mind and productive outcomes.
@@WestExplainsBest Who is Dr. Jones ?
@@sligon00 Indiana Jones' dad - I quoted him from "Last Crusade"
LOL...Aw thanks man, thought you were quoting some famous mathematician, not an anthropologilst... ;-)
Solid advice on not only just math but life in general
Thank you man I needed to learn this.
I never tried to but tutors love to explain everything about whats going on in the problem instead of teaching how to do it.
This is a very good point that I still struggle with. I kinda thought of an analogy that might go with this:
It's like trying to defeat a boss in a video game, instead of going on side quests and increasing your arsenal, it might very well be possible that giving up and moving on to other things will give you the inventory you need to defeat that boss. It also might not, but I'm just being optimistic.
I like this analogy
this is a cool way to think!
The relationship with math can turn dark and abusive. Take a walk? Easier said than done with math snickering behind your back.
Thank God for Piss Breaks ... almost anything that can pull you out of the chair and out of the rut sometimes works.
@@leovolont Yes and actually anything that takes you through a door will help a bit. When people pass through a doorway there's a context refresh that happens as you no longer need information about the room you were in and suddenly need information about the room that you're entering. It's why when people go to the kitchen they often forget what they were going there for.
The upshot is that if you're stuck doing the wrong things on a problem, sometimes you can just leave the room for a couple minutes and you get unstuck. It's a bit like rebooting a computer that's acting up.
@Artificial Hobos Yes, so can lowering the temperature in the room a few degrees or looking at something green. All 3 of these things often times happen when you go outside. (Obviously assuming it's not blazing hot middle of summer)
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Hi Chris. HOLY SHIT! That makes all the Sense In The World. the idea ISN'T to take a break, no, when stuck, YOU HAVE TO WALK OUT OF THE ROOM. Heck, I see that with my Cats... if a Cat is pissed off about something, well, I learned to just pick them up and walk them about 20 feet away and put them down someplace "fresh". Works every time. Who would have thought it works for Humans and Monkeys too. THANKS Chris!
Do a walking meditation
It's properly right, I work in the programming field, dealing with various project issues. When I encounter challenges, I take a break, grab a cup of coffee, maybe have a smoke, and simply relax. This moment of pause often aids me in finding solutions to my problems
Thank you! I really needed this video💙
The professor is speaking a universal truism. Trust him. Move on. If it is important then keep coming back, try new perspectives. Discuss the topic with others. Always share your difficulties. Don't be so foolish as to believe you can solve everything by yourself. Find out what works for you.
Then again, I am not a mathematician, just an old retired ChemE that still enjoys the beauty of math and science. Especially, when applying maths in the real world.
👍👍
Wise words.
Im an electronic engineering student and i often get stuck solving some problems.
This was really helpful :)
"Give up strategically"
that's now rotex-tape-labeled to the top of my second screen. so good. thanks!
I need to do this in other fields as well. Thanks for the talk
This advice is pure gold. I'm a late bloomer, I'm the guy that couldn't add simple fractions or do long division in school, but always had an amateur passion for physics and science. I believed the lie that some people just "didn't have it", or that I just wasn't a "maths person". Years later, after knowing that I could never enter those fields properly without tackling the math issue, I spent hours each afternoon and evening after work, starting from the bottom up, teaching myself from books and online Udemy courses, prealgebra, algebra, trig etc. With a lot of hard work, I'm now a mature age student in the middle of university calculus and loving every minute of this beautiful subject, despite its challenges and stresses.
Thank you for your channel and everything you do, your videos have been incredibly reassuring and inspiring to me.
inspiring
You're really a math sorcerer, thanks for making me realize it's okay, once I was depressed that I couldn't understand maths but now I know it's okay and that I shouldn't be stuck in one place
A great message. I remember being in grade school and having a tougher time with my multiplication tables than other kids. We'd play a flash card game, and I never won. I thought I'd never learn them. Then later, after the pressure was off a bit, all of a sudden, seemingly, I just knew my times tables. They just appeared in my head and made sense. Better a little bit late than never.
This message, by the way, applies to everything. Take a break, do something else. If you're writing poetry or working on a piece of music, step away from it, distract yourself. There's a good reason why so many eureka moments happen on the toilet or in the shower. :)
Fantastic video. Really helped reduce my anxiety about going back to college.
Really informational, Thanks! Here, I kept thinking that I was the odd one out, or rather built different. Who knew a simple trick could help out so much, focusing on the same thing until I tire myself out and am no longer able to do it is just not efficient... breaks really are important. 🌟
I really needed this. I’ve been teaching myself algebra (trying to catch up where public school failed me) and I’ve been really stuck on the “why” on certain things. I’m an analytical person, I love figuring out the reasons behind what’s done, but as long as I can get the how I can let that go. Thank you💕
How is it now
Thank you so much for this, letting go off the things you don't get right away is okay. I came back 10 years to math and was the best decision ever. The funny is that now I understand topics much better than I did a decade ago.
I clicked on this video out of curiosity and cause its not too long. And its like, to me, he wasnt talking about math. thx it helped
great idea! when I was a 9th grader, one of my classmates gave me a geometry problem to solve. I couldn't solve it in a week. I always ended up falling to sleep while trying to solving the problem. One night, after two months, a voice popping up in my ears gave me a hint and I jumped up to solve the problem. Later, I found it was a theory in a high school geometry textbook. Be patient and wait your brain to click and never to give up.
Best advice ever. Me also as engineer student tried to understand every single point of the matter, losing a lot of time . It's way better to just accept some assertions without challenge them. The deep understanding will often come with years.
You are absolutely correct!I am a grade 9 student, but your channel is a source through which I found very good recommend books, which helped me guiding/understanding mathematics, the whole credit goes to you!
Thank you! I was being too hard on myself. I'm trying to understand more than just calculus. Sometimes its hard but I guess it's supposed to be.
As Barbara Oakley explains in her book "A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science", the brain has two modes: focused mode and diffuse mode. When you are trying to solve a problem, you are in the focused mode. The focused mode is mostly for linear and logical thinking. Going for a walk or taking a nap helps you get into the diffused mode. It's when you are in the diffused mode that solutions to problems you have been working on can suddenly pop up, as if out of nowhere.
Thank you so much. I am currently taking an asynchronous course in Multivariable Calculus and I find myself spending hours on just one problem or topic. Last week I was stuck on a few problems from my textbook and couldn't see why my answers were wrong. I spent so much time on these problems, only to find out later that the answers in the textbook had typos :(. I will try to apply what you talked about to avoid this happening again in the future.
This guy speaks the truth - his words resonate so much, they always make me laugh. I'm the sort of person that wastes hours trying to understand something and can't move on until I get it - it's genuinely tiring.
I've recently found this channel and only watched like 2-3 videos but I can just tell that this is the tip of a very productive iceberg 😂😄
I'm self-studying math and your videos really serve as a motivational source to me.
Awesome !
Same here, but with a tutor.
The path is made by walking. Understanding comes over time, with experience; it requires a process of delayed gratification.
well said:)
This is a really interesting video to me. Super helpful and very kind. It’s interesting to me because people have often told me that the way I work is wrong. I am told I should always prioritize what is due first, and should complete those tasks before any other ones. This video is very helpful because it provides an alternative to that. It shows me that there is a reason why I instinctively jump to different tasks when I get stuck, and tells me that’s not a shameful way to go about things. In fact, if I accept it, it can be helpful for resolving the task at hand! Thank you!
"I can't understand this math problem. Can you help me?" "Touch grass."
This is a skill I really need to pick up but I absolutely get so sucked in to certain problems and concepts and can’t make myself move on and I end up getting behind on other things. There has definitely been times when I have found just moving on or coming back to it has helped a lot. I’m terrible with procrastinating so that’s another thing I need to work on: to allow myself time to not understand something and let that be okay. Thank you for this video!
Yes, I agree. In studying electronics, I’ve come across some things that I just can’t grasp, and it is easy to get discouraged and think that maybe I’m not made for this endeavor. But then I remember that there are SO many things to learn in electronics, there’s no point in banging my head over just one thing, when I could branch in a different direction and then circle back around some other time.
thank you for having this kind of videos this made me realize that mathematics is beautiful even thou i'm doubting myself if i can but i'm willing to learn and learn until i'm fully understand.
Thanks for the advice! 🎉
If you are stuck in a math problem:
1. Go for a walk;
2. Work on something completely different;
3. Remember that it's fine to be stuck.
Thank you for this message, I have been struggling with math 099 and its hard for me doing graphing problens and when I get fraustered with someone my performance on testing can be horrible. Recently, I didn't do so well on my first test, I felt crummy and total unprepared. So when I saw your video, I feel like the weight has been lifted.
Thank you so much. I've been pushing myself so hard studying for my ASVAB, and this is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you again.
This advice is invaluable. I could have used this last year. I will remember this moving forward in my studies. Priceless advice.
"you're just not gonna get it" well... **throws paper and exits exam room
Lol
Do a video on what a brilliant vs not so smart person actually is. No one talks about this. And then follow up with both after they’ve follow ways to get smarter and see if either improved
the average person is equally capable of math as the next person. only a rare few are truly naturally gifted at math. It's other factors that contribute to students struggling with math. Different life situations and experiences, good/bad math teachers, lack of motivation from the individual students (not everyone needs to be a mathematician or stellar at math, just as not everyone needs to be a plumber or a musician, or an engineer, etc), etc.
TBH, this probably won't be very satisfying, but there isn't really much difference between the two groups in any objective way. The difference is probalby only a percent or 2 i n terms of measurable differences early on. The main differences are in practices and beliefs. The brilliant, tend to be willing to push harder, look stupid and probe a variety of approaches to a problem. They will temporarily walk away, but usually it is a temporary setting aside of things while solutions and skills improve.
I've personally developed a reputation for knowing a lot and being insightful, but I've got significant brain damage from multiple episodes and learning disabilities. Objectively, I struggle more than most other people do, but I have developed the practices of brilliance and figured out how to make what I have work for me. Most people don't do that, so they wind up being less than they could be in terms of abilities.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade I agree. It has been my experience than that vast majority of people have equal capacity to be good at something as another person. It comes down to personal motivation and desire to learn it. I am good at certain things in life because I Want to be good at them, and I put the time and effort in to learn them and practice them and get good at it. Other things I have no desire to learn, and so I don't, and I'lll never be good at those. Not that I couldn't , just that I don't Want to.
it's the exception to the rule that a person might have a true learning disability, genetic defect, or also be a naturally gifted person at a particular thing. Most people are perfectly normal overall, and perfectly capable.
Objectively, based on testing standards, repeated real-world performance both in multiple careers as well as in academia, etc. I can make the claim, and back it up, that I am in the top 1% of performers, intellectually, nationwide in the US. That being said, I have never encountered a skill or piece of knowledge that I have not been able to teach a middle schooler or high school aged student to do/understand. I love doing it too, seeing their eyes light up when they realize they can master "complex" ideas and skills is so rewarding. Turns out teaching is one of my talents, but the point is, every kid I have met or worked with has the potential to know and understand anything I do, or that others do. Some simply don't Want to learn, or don't Want to put in the effort to learn particular things. It comes down to personal motivation. Not everyone needs to be a musician, or a mathematician, or an engineer, etc either.
@@SoloRenegade you’re post is inspiring and I think that’s more of what I need as I’ve developed beliefs that do not serve me. Would you be open to a conversation?
@@capgains I'm always open to conversation.