Comments on: What’s the Problem with Maths? http://blog.oup.com/2010/10/maths/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Wed, 22 May 2013 15:58:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Sadrudin Thanawalla http://blog.oup.com/2010/10/maths/#comment-302097 Sadrudin Thanawalla Sun, 21 Oct 2012 11:57:32 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=11802#comment-302097 I found Maths great after I discovered this subtraction trick. Say you want to subtract 249 from 332. write them out as one normally would: 332 - 249. I accidentally hit on the idea that if you can't subtract 9 from 2, then subtract 2 from 9 and subtract the result from 10 (which is much easier to do than subtracting 9 from 12). All you then need to do is increase the 4 in the tens column by one - so 5 - in the next column calculation. In this particular case you will have to repeat this trick at the tens column. Has anybody found this before? I found Maths great after I discovered this subtraction trick. Say you want to subtract 249 from 332. write them out as one normally would: 332 – 249. I accidentally hit on the idea that if you can’t subtract 9 from 2, then subtract 2 from 9 and subtract the result from 10 (which is much easier to do than subtracting 9 from 12). All you then need to do is increase the 4 in the tens column by one – so 5 – in the next column calculation. In this particular case you will have to repeat this trick at the tens column. Has anybody found this before?

]]> By: Casey http://blog.oup.com/2010/10/maths/#comment-183968 Casey Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:38:26 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=11802#comment-183968 @James Agreed! I'm no mathlete myself, but why is it cool to be bad at math or science? @James Agreed! I’m no mathlete myself, but why is it cool to be bad at math or science?

]]> By: James MacAonghus http://blog.oup.com/2010/10/maths/#comment-183774 James MacAonghus Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:52:59 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=11802#comment-183774 I don't know why it's so accepted for people to say, laughingly, "I'm no good at maths, me", to a gigglingly approving audience of their friends. They wouldn't say "I am rubbish at stringing sentences together" with the same ease. The problem is maths does not suffer fools gladly, and arts subjects do. With something like English you can pretend there is fuzziness and choose your interpretation. In fact, people are bad at English too ("£1 for six apple's", "their not the same ones I have", "I should of known", "and he was like, yeah, but") but it is not so obvious. Mediocrity in English is called "living language" whereas mediocrity in maths clearly marks you out as not knowing what you are doing. I don’t know why it’s so accepted for people to say, laughingly, “I’m no good at maths, me”, to a gigglingly approving audience of their friends. They wouldn’t say “I am rubbish at stringing sentences together” with the same ease.

The problem is maths does not suffer fools gladly, and arts subjects do. With something like English you can pretend there is fuzziness and choose your interpretation. In fact, people are bad at English too (“£1 for six apple’s”, “their not the same ones I have”, “I should of known”, “and he was like, yeah, but”) but it is not so obvious. Mediocrity in English is called “living language” whereas mediocrity in maths clearly marks you out as not knowing what you are doing.

]]> By: Tweets that mention OUPblog » Blog Archive » What’s the Problem with Maths? -- Topsy.com http://blog.oup.com/2010/10/maths/#comment-183652 Tweets that mention OUPblog » Blog Archive » What’s the Problem with Maths? -- Topsy.com Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:11:47 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=11802#comment-183652 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joseph Force Crater and Joseph Force Crater, Lauren. Lauren said: !!! HOW DID I NEVER KNOW ABOUT THIS??? http://bit.ly/9oL5Da [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joseph Force Crater and Joseph Force Crater, Lauren. Lauren said: !!! HOW DID I NEVER KNOW ABOUT THIS??? http://bit.ly/9oL5Da [...]

]]>