Math Doesn't Suck, YOU DO!

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
Not sure if this has been posted before, but holy shit it's brilliant! Kind of lengthy, but worth the read!

Every time I hear someone say "I suck at math," I immediately think he or she is a moron. If you suck at math, what you really suck at is following instructions.

Sucking at math is like sucking at cooking. I'm tired of eating shitty food because you're too much of a dipshit to follow a recipe. Also, I'm tired of hearing people brag about how they can't cook like it's some kind of badge of honor. It's like a race to the bottom with you people. I always hear people one-upping each other about how inept they are at cooking. If you don't know how to chop up a few carrots to make a decent soup, take your life.

Math is exactly like cooking: just follow the recipe. Symbols look confusing? Can't figure out how to solve a problem? All I hear is, "Waaah! Boo-hoo! I didn't read the introduction to the chapter that tells me exactly how to solve this generic category of problems!"

Math isn't some voodoo that only smart people understand. It's something that people understand on their path to enlightenment, and it's about as straightforward as thinking gets. And when I say "math" here, I'm talking specifically about the only category of math that 99% of people know about: applied. It's a failure of teachers everywhere to expose people to the much less commonly known branch of mathematics: theoretical.

Theoretical math is cool as shit. You know what's not cool? You being an idiot. Math theory involves solving problems like finding patterns in prime numbers, topology and thinking about the different kinds of infinity. And yes, there are different kinds of infinities. Pick up a fucking book some time.

Evolutionary tree with and without math.

Ever heard of Pascal's triangle? Or the Fibonacci sequence? How the square root of 2 was discovered? Do you know anything about the Pythagorean cult who discovered the "Pythagorean theorem"?

No, because you're too busy saying the same tired excuse every other dickhead spews out about math: "when will I ever use this in life?"

First of all, if you're leading your life in such a way that you never have to do math, congratulations, you are a donkey.

Why is math the only discipline that has to put up with this bullshit? People gladly learn art, music, literature and geography. You'll even nod like a happy idiot when you learn what a haiku is, and you never complain or whine about how you'll never use this in your "life." When is the last time you wrote a haiku, asshole?

But when it comes to math, everyone turns into a big pussy and starts PMSing all over the place. The walls, the flag, the teachers, everyone and everything gets splattered by your crimson twat water. Because suddenly you can predict the future and you know that for the next 70 or so years of your life, with 100% certainty, that you will never use math and that you can tune out and go back to doodling because you're too self-important to learn something that ancient people thought was important enough to pass down for your dumbass to learn from. It's far more important for you to practice writing your name or drawing hearts and stars, right?

People didn't invent this stuff because they were bored. They invented it to solve real-world problems. Problems that real men had to deal with before your stupid ass was born, like building oil platforms, delivering the correct dosage of medicine and going to space. Not so your dumbass can play "Gardens of Time" on Facebook, although you wouldn't be able to do that without math, either.

All higher forms of thinking come from neural connections built by solving the kinds of problems encountered in math. Why should you learn math? Because fuck you, that's why. Learning math isn't about how much or how little you use it at your shitty job. It's about becoming someone who's worth a shit.

Don't like it? Tough. People also don't like to work, and if everyone took your shitty attitude towards math and applied it towards work, we'd all be living in shit huts in Africa. As for me, I like computers, the Internet, and riding in elevators. Don't think elevators are awesome? Take the stairs next time, asshole. That's what people who hate math get: stairs.

http://thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=math
 

tyler.durden

Well-Known Member
LOL! 'Why should you learn math? Because fuck you, that's why'. Good shit. Don't like the Haiku remark, though, I write them every week ;)
 

scroglodyte

Well-Known Member
math will get a lot easier after the oil runs out. look what your math and your wheel have created. you can keep it. ug
 

tyler.durden

Well-Known Member
Add Maddox to your Facebook feed for a weekly dose of this stuff. :)
Shit, I didn't even see the link at the end of the OP! Of course it's Maddox, I didn't know he was writing new stuff. The site seemed to be stagnant for a while, I'm glad he's back at it. He gets the best hate mail in the world...
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
His latest FB post...

"That awkward moment when you realize that sentences beginning with "that awkward moment" don't mean anything, aren't making a statement and aren't funny. Nobody cares."
 

mindphuk

Well-Known Member
Have you read Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos? He details how we use and misuse math in everyday situations and how being math illiterate hurts society in general. The general inability to reasonably calculate or understand statistics, chance, probability affects our day-to-day choices and many times because of this missing skill, our choices are often made incorrectly. It affects our view on politics and policy decisions, evaluating news stories, risk assessment, purchasing decisions, not to mention susceptibility to claims of pseudoscience.

[video=youtube;2dJanAgydps]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2dJanAgydps[/video]
 

Daxus

Active Member
I love Maddox, been reading his stuff for a long time :clap:

I can do math, it just usually takes me longer than other people, unless I'm using some awesome software. Excel got me through physics and math has always been a weak point that I've been trying to improve (and while my speed at calculation on paper has improved I still struggle). In one of my classes there was no deadline on any of the work other than it was all due at the last day of class and we could use any tools to do it. I did 8 weeks of work in 9 hours the night it was due thanks to a couple helpful websites. Not because I couldn't do it but because I didn't give enough of a fuck to do it up until then. It all seemed boring and pointless and wasn't so much teaching as "do this, do that, you just did it, now learn something new, there's no testing if you remember it". Once I was done I thought "Damn, that was pointless and I learned nothing other than how to use my resources."

I think he's right though and that's why I say "I suck at math" and not "Math sucks, we haz computers and calculators we no need math, lulz!!!". Hopefully my skills will continue to improve over time.
 

olylifter420

Well-Known Member
what is so important about math that if we "dont" know it, we are a "dipshit"?

I just dont get it. Some people are great some things and others are not... we all have our talents and flaws that makes us unique. To call someone an idiot just for not knowing trig or calculus is retarded to say the least.


It is like me accusing you of not being able to produce Olympic caliber athletes and calling you a dumbass for not being able to.


It does not make sense to call people idiots... especially if you do not know anything about them...
 

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
what is so important about math that if we "dont" know it, we are a "dipshit"?

I just dont get it. Some people are great some things and others are not... we all have our talents and flaws that makes us unique. To call someone an idiot just for not knowing trig or calculus is retarded to say the least.


It is like me accusing you of not being able to produce Olympic caliber athletes and calling you a dumbass for not being able to.


It does not make sense to call people idiots... especially if you do not know anything about them...
That's not the point. Everyone has the same ability and capacity to learn, I don't think your analogy of Olympic caliber athletes is comparable. The article is talking about those people that say stupid shit like "I'm not good at math" or "math sucks" and goes on to explain why are dumb for thinking, regurgitating and believing that.
 

olylifter420

Well-Known Member
Why is it not comparable? Cause you have differing views?

It is a learned skill set, just like math. If you cant train elite athletes, then you suck...

Then what is your point? To ridicule individuals who have trouble comprehending numbers? Fair form bigotry

and heph, you.fell short homie. Weak minds give in to any sort of pressure.



That's not the point. Everyone has the same ability and capacity to learn, I don't think your analogy of Olympic caliber athletes is comparable. The article is talking about those people that say stupid shit like "I'm not good at math" or "math sucks" and goes on to explain why are dumb for thinking, regurgitating and believing that.
 

jessy koons

New Member
rant rant rant rant,rant,rant. That essay sounds like compositional masturbation: interesting for the do-er but not so interesting for the reader.
 

Hepheastus420

Well-Known Member
Why is it not comparable? Cause you have differing views?

It is a learned skill set, just like math. If you cant train elite athletes, then you suck...

Then what is your point? To ridicule individuals who have trouble comprehending numbers? Fair form bigotry

and heph, you.fell short homie. Weak minds give in to any sort of pressure.
I think it's because many people don't have the body structure to do olympic shit. Many more people actually have the brain capacity to learn math but decide not too.

First oly, glad to see you :). Second, I don't have a weak mind.. and third, it wasn't because of pressure. I couldn't log onto RIU for a couple of months. I lost my religion during those couple of months. No pressure was put on me.. Hell, I have (still do) more pressure on me to be religious by a couple of friends. I don't know how I lost it, all I know is I just can't have faith anymore.. just can't. Being honest, I tried going back to having faith because it was killing me that I couldn't believe anymore..it still hurts.
 

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
I think it's because many people don't have the body structure to do olympic shit. Many more people actually have the brain capacity to learn math but decide not too.

First oly, glad to see you :). Second, I don't have a weak mind.. and third, it wasn't because of pressure. I couldn't log onto RIU for a couple of months. I lost my religion during those couple of months. No pressure was put on me.. Hell, I have (still do) more pressure on me to be religious by a couple of friends. I don't know how I lost it, all I know is I just can't have faith anymore.. just can't. Being honest, I tried going back to having faith because it was killing me that I couldn't believe anymore..it still hurts.
It takes a while to go from having a religion, to being comfortable having none. Just like anything else familiair that you change, there's an adjustment period. More so with religion, because most use fear tactics of eternal damnation to scare you out of leaving. It takes a bit to get out of the mindset. The compulsion for blind faith fades over time. You'll be saying "I really beleived that?" before you know it.
 

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
Why is it not comparable? Cause you have differing views?

It is a learned skill set, just like math. If you cant train elite athletes, then you suck...

Then what is your point? To ridicule individuals who have trouble comprehending numbers? Fair form bigotry

and heph, you.fell short homie. Weak minds give in to any sort of pressure.
I don't think the two are comparable because you can't learn to be taller, stronger, faster. Some people are just genetically gifted when it comes to athleticism. We are all much more capable of learning information.

One requires both practice and genetics, the other only requires practice.

You can train all you want, but certain individuals simply won't be as good as other individuals because of their genetic predisposition. Yes there are geniuses, but they are exceptions and they also dedicate themselves to practicing their trade. You can be born a prodigy, but you have to work to become a genius.

My point was to entertain the board with what I thought was a funny bit on something glaringly true. I'd guess the author who wrote the article's point was to poke at proudly ignorant people as well as explain the actual importance and meaning of mathematics. You don't learn it because you may or may not need it, you learn it because it's there to learn and it will enrich your life. Ignorant people, like the ones described in the OP, deserve to be ridiculed for their ignorance, especially when they say something as monumentally stupid as "I suck at math". Anyone that knows how to read has the capability to learn math, and saying "I suck at math" is a candid admission of intellectual laziness.
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
I think it's because many people don't have the body structure to do olympic shit. Many more people actually have the brain capacity to learn math but decide not too.

First oly, glad to see you :). Second, I don't have a weak mind.. and third, it wasn't because of pressure. I couldn't log onto RIU for a couple of months. I lost my religion during those couple of months. No pressure was put on me.. Hell, I have (still do) more pressure on me to be religious by a couple of friends. I don't know how I lost it, all I know is I just can't have faith anymore.. just can't. Being honest, I tried going back to having faith because it was killing me that I couldn't believe anymore..it still hurts.
Think about all the times in your life you have asked god for strength or thanked him for getting you through difficult times. Now that you do not believe, you see that it was actually you who provided strength and you who got yourself through hard times. Since there is nothing more to life than this, it makes even more valueable the friends and loved ones you have, and every experience counts more now than what it did. All your accomplishments, your interests, your loves mean more now than ever, because they are no longer just a precursor to some higher plan you have no control over. You are no longer waiting in limbo until your perfect (after)life comes to be, this is your perfect life now, and it's now more important than ever to make it count. Think about how much more extraordinary and wondrous your existence is now that you know you came from star-stuff instead of some supreme being's master plan. You are a way for the universe to know and experience itself, and it's an awe inspiring thing that you were fortunate enough to get this chance.

It can be a bit scary. It's kinda like walking the line without a net, but you'll find out the net was never necessary. You will fall down and pick yourself back up, without having to worry about entanglement.
 
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