IssueRaiser

I remember struggling with Calculus in high school.

I remember struggling with Calculus in high school. I sat in the library next to the smartest guy in the class and explained to him that I couldn't figure out why a certain formula was to be used to solve a problem. It went something like: Steve: "You have to use that formula to solve this." Me: "I understand that but why do we use that formula?" Steve: "Cause that's the only formula that works." Me: "OK but how did they come up with that one formula?" Steve: "Cause it just works!!" He didn't know. That's when I first realized a lot of his knowledge was just memorization while I needed to know the why. It wasn't till my first year in college that I finally found a math instructor who always shows us the reasons why that I was able to take off and grasp math by connecting the dots. So, no, I do not think memorization is the key but, like most zen things, understanding is.

Posted by icantthinkofone on Oct 3, 2014, 2:09 PM

Tags

Related issues

Raise real-world problems, find people facing the same issue, and discuss solutions.9,000 issues0 comments

hackernews (EdTech)

I remember struggling with Calculus in high school.

icantthinkofoneOct 3, 2014, 2:09 PM

I remember struggling with Calculus in high school. I sat in the library next to the smartest guy in the class and explained to him that I couldn't figure out why a certain formula was to be used to solve a problem. It went something like: Steve: "You have to use that formula to solve this." Me: "I understand that but why do we use that formula?" Steve: "Cause that's the only formula that works." Me: "OK but how did they come up with that one formula?" Steve: "Cause it just works!!" He didn't know. That's when I first realized a lot of his knowledge was just memorization while I needed to know the why. It wasn't till my first year in college that I finally found a math instructor who always shows us the reasons why that I was able to take off and grasp math by connecting the dots. So, no, I do not think memorization is the key but, like most zen things, understanding is.

Comments (0)

No comments yet. Start the discussion.

Comment on this issue