Learning in maths, but not understanding what purpose it serves

I find myself learning how to do various processes in maths, but not actually knowing what use it has. Does anyone else feel the same? If so how do you deal with it, do you try and find out what the methods can be used for?
OR is there any material you'd recommend which involves why the concepts are important and not just the process/methods.

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Reply 1

math42

Since all of life is ultimately pointless I do not particularly care about the practical uses of the maths I do.

Reply 2

ManLike007

Original post by ᒍack

Try watching youtube videos on their applications of how they're used. Recent one I watched was matrices and eigenvectors, I had no clue what I was learning lol

Reply 3

Welshstig

Original post by 1 8 13 20 42

Since all of life is ultimately pointless I do not particularly care about the practical uses of the maths I do.

This is why we need religion.

Yes, I just went there.

^{This was a big mistake. As was using comic sans. I don't like comic sans.}

Reply 4

Blue_Cow

Original post by ᒍack

Just accept it and learn for the exam if you're not planning to do a maths/engineering degree. No point wasting valuable time!

The sad reality of exam-based education systems (although it's the best we have).

Reply 5

ᒍack

Original post by Blue_Cow

Yeah, hopefully someones comes up with a better system. I think the most important thing when learning is knowing how to apply that knowledge and knowing why it's useful.

Reply 6

Eulogy

Original post by ᒍack

Yeah, hopefully someones comes up with a better system. I think the most important thing when learning is knowing how to apply that knowledge and knowing why it's useful.

I disagree tbqhfam
If you wanted to learn in that style, that's what BTEC Applied maths is for

Spoiler

Reply 7

ᒍack

Original post by Eulogy

I disagree tbqhfam
If you wanted to learn in that style, that's what BTEC Applied maths is for

Spoiler

Maybe you misunderstood. The point i'm trying to get across is: you learn calculus for example and all these methods involved with it, but you're not taught where the processes can be applied and what they specifically help you do, pretty much rendering the knowledge pointless.

Reply 8

Eulogy

Original post by ᒍack

I understood.
If you wanted that you take applied maths. Hence the name "applied". They show you where to apply the maths".
You don't take Biology A Level because one day a mugger's gonna come up to you and force you to recite the Krebs cycle or you get stabbed.

Reply 9

ᒍack

Original post by Eulogy

Thank you for making yourself look extremely simple-minded.
Your ignorance on the point is laughable but concerning at the same time.

Reply 10

Eulogy

Original post by ᒍack

Thank you for making yourself look extremely simple-minded.
Your ignorance on the point is laughable but concerning at the same time.

Your welcome.

At least I ****ing know where calculus can be applied

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Reply 11

ᒍack

Original post by Eulogy

Your welcome.

At least I ****ing know where calculus can be applied

Spoiler

Yes I understand that, however to do so I had to go off-course from the material endorsed by the exam board to learn it myself from places like the Khan academy.

Reply 12

PhatHo

Original post by Blue_Cow

Wtf , a blue cow is typing ? F*ck that **** you suppose to be milking for me

Reply 13

ᒍack

Original post by Eulogy

Also I'd say biology is relatively good in comparison with maths in terms of understanding the purpose. For example when you learn about mutations in a genes that codes for a proteins, you don't just learn: The order of bases change, you learn about how the ordering of the bases then affect the amino acid that is created and that in turn can completely affect the protein made, as well as its structure which can then also affect its functionality.

With maths it's more like, learn this method, when you see this do this, don't ask why it's just what you do.

Reply 14

Kilam_Namoan

This is what makes revising maths so hard for me at times. It feels so pointless.

Reply 15

Eulogy

Original post by ᒍack

Yes I understand that, however to do so I had to go off-course from the material endorsed by the exam board to learn it myself from places like the Khan academy.

Edexcel Old Spec Maths A Level, Mechanics 2, Section 1:
Velocity and acceleration when the displacement is a function of time.
The setting up and solution of equations of the form dx/dt = f(t) or dv/dt = g(t) will be consistent with the level of calculus in C2.

Reply 16

Eulogy

Original post by ᒍack

Trying to compare Biology with maths (especially in the way you've done) makes no sense. You're learning/learnt things that way, but they don't have to be. Maybe your teachers aren't great. You can always ask your teacher, why do you we use this method, or how does this method work. You used to be able to get away with learning stuff that way, but now they're changing the maths spec.

In general, in the core/pure units, you learn the concepts, and then you can choose to take the applied units where they're applied. Unfortunately you have the learn the actual concepts first, independent of how they're applied, before you can learn how they're applied.

Reply 17

Quirky Object

Original post by Eulogy

PRSOM

Maths (assuming you mean pure maths and not stats etc., which has some pretty obvious "real world" applications) isn't about immediately applicable facts concerning concrete entities. I'd say the intrinsic beauty of it makes it interesting and worth studying, but since that isn't so easy to see in school maths, there are always transferable skills.

Reply 18

ᒍack

Original post by Eulogy

Yeah so this is what we were getting at, knowing about its uses is considered time wasted because you're barely marked on it. So it's just more efficient to learn the processes to answer the questions.

However when it comes down to pursuing a subject like physics, it would've been much more beneficial if you learnt what practical uses the processes have.

The current system is not very dependent on why it's important and what practical use it holds. So if someone wants to further study subjects like physics, they'd have to learn the practical uses of the processes in there own time, and it wouldn't necessarily affect their grade. (their grade in their current level of study)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 19

Eulogy

Original post by ᒍack

Yeah so this is what we were getting at, knowing about its uses is considered time wasted because you're barely marked on it. So it's just more efficient to learn the processes to answer the questions.

However when it comes down to pursuing a subject like physics, it would've been much more beneficial if you learnt why the processes are useful and where you can use them to help calculate different variables.

The current system is not very dependent on why it's important and what practical use it holds. So if someone wants to further study subjects like physics, they'd have to learn the practical uses of the processes in there own time, and it wouldn't necessarily affect their grade.