I thought I'd bring this up because it's a slow week and it was brought to mind by a string on that other board.
I entered ND in 1968 had was required to take two semesters of Calculus as part of Freshman Year of Studies even though I intended to go into a social science. Back in First Grade, I was nearly held back because of my weaknesses in arithmetic. The Calc teacher stunk, I was completely, and I mean completely, lost, there was no tutoring help, and when I took the final exam first semester I just signed my name and handed it in. I got an F and had to re-take the semester. I got a D the second time. By then I was an emotional wreck. Sophomore year, they put me into remedial math with others of my ilk, and I proudly pulled a C, so they let me out of math.
I blame Notre Dame and my Catholic Baby Boomer education for being lousy at teaching, not myself for being dumb at math. I still have nightmares about this fifty years later -- they usually involve forgetting that I had signed up for the course until the last couple days of the semester. My GPA never recovered from the F, D and C. You can see that this still bothers me. I've never needed Calculus one bit since then and have had a successful career as a city planning consultant. They told me that the rigor of Calculus would be good for me. F you, Isaac Newton.
I was heartened to read on that other board that many others at ND, even many years later, and even those in aiming for engineering or science who had Calc in high school, had similar stories.
'Nuf of that. Beat the Trogans.
It's just a guy telling a story.
it's what they do
I struggled with calc as well, but blame no one.
Immediately after ND won. Then he told everyone we should love and respect Michigan. Left a bad taste in my mouth. Doubt I’m the only one. For the record, I did not down vote. Just offering a theory.
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Of all 23 developed nations. That's from OECD international testing. Why? Because USAAmeruca is horrible at teaching math concepts. Only 8% of us are proficient at numeracy, meaning, understanding math concepts well enough to apply them in various situations.
What we're good at is plug and chug, I.e. taking a formula, putting in numbers, and churning out an answer. It's garbage pedogogy, and it's designed to create dumb asses who cannot apply basic math.
As a physics student, not one thing ever explained why the fuck calculus was created, why it supplements the sciences, or why it's necessary. Didn't matter if you went to catholic school or not, all of my math teaching was premised on doing problems, with NO discussion of the concepts, or why the subject is necessary in the first place.
I'll let you in on something that will underscore how fucked and corrupt USAAmerican schools are. All the math you'll ever need, and I mean all the way to STEM grad school, was when you learned fractions, ratios, and percentages. Those are "pure numbers" and if you're thinking you've never heard of such a thing, yes you have. Pure numbers are trig functions, all of geometry, slope of a line, integrals and differentials, exponents, logs, thermo entropy, and a bunch of other things. That inventory alone tells you the importance of pure numbers. I challenge anyone to find a traditional math textbook that will tell you that basic fact, and go into a detailed discussion as to the vast importance of the pure number. All statistical and marginal analysis is premised on that one concept. I had to learn it on my own when I was doing physics research as an undergrad. Pure numbers are essential when you set up your experiment, establish initial conditions and record as much info about those ICs, introduce a catalyst into the beginning system, then measure what happens afterward. That's why math and pure numbers were created, to measure the results of changes. Bada boom, bada bing. That's all the fuck it is. Anyone of normal intelligence can easily understand that, because it makes common god damn sense.
You're not a math idiot, you're just a product of a school system that had no interest in creating well educated, critical thinking citizens. The only two teachers worth a damn at my Jebbie high school said as much. Both eventually left the church when they had had enough...
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Not joking
The saddest part of that year was that we only tied USC even though we outplayed them and "squeezed the juice." Let's squeeze 'em harder on Saturday!
Link: https://www.ndinsider.com/football/throwback-thursday-notre-dame-usc-settle-for-tie-in/article_61099c28-729a-11e5-bf07-d325b4247ba1.html
His problem was getting stuck with an asian professor whose competency in English was limited. Even though the prof had accessible office hours, my brother stopped going for help because he couldn't understand him. He snuck through freshman year with a C (probably only because the prof knew he tried) and then struggled in the next year because his foundation in Calc was weak.
He ended up with a master's in ME and worked his whole life at McDonell Douglas making sure planes flew right. But I know I could always get a rise out of him by just mentioning that prof's name.
I'm not one to disagree with you, that you probably wasted your time in calculus, just as I wasted my time in philosophy. I don't really give a rip about Euthyphro, the Apology, etc., and certainly couldn't give a flying fig about "The Pear Tree Incident" for which everyone had to write a 5 page essay (and a disgruntled TA grading the paper took off 20% because he thought it was too long).
Most of my liberal arts courses were wastes of time (although I did enjoy theology), and the old mantras of "you're the wisest person if you know nothing at all" from PHIL 200 are absolute garbage in the real world.
Regarding calculus, though, I can't see why you would have had an extremely difficult time. Even back in 1968, I'm pretty sure you could have asked one of your dorm friends to help you out a bit.
Calculus courses, especially the easier ones (105 and 106, if I recall correctly), are set up in a way that if you had a reasonably good command of your Algebra II / Trig courses from your high school days, that anyone who at least honestly did the homework and put forth even a half hearted effort could easily get a C.
I knew of some truly mathematically challenged athletic individuals who did just fine in Calc 105, just by asking fellow dorm mates for a bit of help.
Still, I'm happy for you, that you pushed your way through Calc, and found your way to success, just as a Golden Domer should be able to do so.
I now deal very well with diversity of thought, with logical argumentation and with a variety of people; I'm a pretty strong writer; I can interpret and reconcile mountains of divergent and conflicting information and opinions.
I recently found a book in a used bookstore that explained Calculus with physical models such as the flight of a baseball off a bat. Suddenly, the light went on for me. If that Notre Dame "teacher" had given me real-world examples, I would have done much better.
You weren't in my shoes.
All in good fun.
Go Irish!
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Even in 1978 I remember there being a class affectionately referred to as Fun with Numbers. Another one called Rocks for Jocks (Geology)
I too have similar nightmares....because I got a C first semester and intended to be an engineer. I recovered and continued to get an engineering degree.
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