oi well have no more of this, this is Leisure Lounge an its friday night switch your brain of and have some Leisure time 
is anyone good at factorizing equations?
- Thread starter Bob in disguise
- Start date
Currently reading:
is anyone good at factorizing equations?
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2003
- Messages
- 46,059
- Points
- 7,134
I agree - LOCK THIS THREAD NOW and reopen it Monday morning
What Paulie says. You need to understand the principles in order to use it, also we don't do everything on paper any more (I never once used log tables and that was years ago) and lastly your computer may not always be working. To give an exmaple, when the computerised tills go down at work we still need to be able to add and subtract.
Adding and subtracting is good - integration is not. Unless you're a maths teacher it's useless.
It's not....just you need to go into certain fields.
It's like saying simultaneous eqns are useless - i use them daily.
It's like saying simultaneous eqns are useless - i use them daily.
Our accountant keeps saying he is creative with his numbers, is this a special branch of maths they study.
You use simultaneous equations every day at school... because you are learning it/them not using them in the real world. Obviously. Didn't I already say that?
Anyway in my view doing it at uni is fine because that's what you chose to do. What gets me is half of A-level maths is integration and sh*it which you have to do if you want a maths A-level, which a good percentage of kids do these days. So employers think... "right here's someone who can add up" but in fact here's someone who can't remember how to do complicated stuff that's useless. I refuse to believe that any more than a handful of people use integration daily in their jobs aside from maths teachers. Which I don't believe justifies teaching it in mainstream maths classes.
Anyway in my view doing it at uni is fine because that's what you chose to do. What gets me is half of A-level maths is integration and sh*it which you have to do if you want a maths A-level, which a good percentage of kids do these days. So employers think... "right here's someone who can add up" but in fact here's someone who can't remember how to do complicated stuff that's useless. I refuse to believe that any more than a handful of people use integration daily in their jobs aside from maths teachers. Which I don't believe justifies teaching it in mainstream maths classes.
Richard, one of the modules I am currently doing is Process Engineering Fundamentals. It's something engineers use daily, it requires the use of all the maths we have learnt. Maybe you don't realise how much of the stuff people use day in day out relies on this because you take it for granted that it's so logical, it wasn't when we first learnt it.
Most people who do maths A level IME go on to do a course at Uni which requires a lot of the skills started at GCSEs and carried through to Alevel.
I personally wouldn't stand a chance on my course without A level maths.
Most people who do maths A level IME go on to do a course at Uni which requires a lot of the skills started at GCSEs and carried through to Alevel.
I personally wouldn't stand a chance on my course without A level maths.
Right then hands up who's got a proper job and it involves integrating stuff!
I know you couldn't do uni maths without A-level maths. I just think that integration and suchlike should be taught as higher education and not at schools.
I know you couldn't do uni maths without A-level maths. I just think that integration and suchlike should be taught as higher education and not at schools.
But then it would waste time at uni when the first day in my modules I needed such ability and for courses other than maths. Loads of fluid flow eqns need it and engineers use them daily. If you didn't do it in maths at sixth form, what would you do?! lol, maths is just that sort of thing.
We don't have any engineers on here (AFAIK) so bad question! lol
We don't have any engineers on here (AFAIK) so bad question! lol
I think the point is that education is done in levels. There may only be a few people who use specific mathematical skills, but you wouldn't be able to go directly from GCSE level to Degree level without understanding what is taught at 'A' Level. Many 'A' Level student might not use what they have learned, but it does prove a level of knowledge, understanding and ability that employers look for.
For those who go onto Degree level, the Degree is likely to be more specialised and hence will concentrate on specific areas of maths with a view to qualifying someone for a specific career or group of careers. The knowledge acquired at 'A' Level maths, shows that a student has the potential to possibly complete the Degree course as well as providing a suitable foundation for the course.
As far as use of the knowledge is concerned. The understanding is essential in order to apply the knowledge and develop it further. A computer calculating something is not necessarily going to enable you to know whether you can improve what you have done or even whether you have entered the data correctly.
For those who go onto Degree level, the Degree is likely to be more specialised and hence will concentrate on specific areas of maths with a view to qualifying someone for a specific career or group of careers. The knowledge acquired at 'A' Level maths, shows that a student has the potential to possibly complete the Degree course as well as providing a suitable foundation for the course.
As far as use of the knowledge is concerned. The understanding is essential in order to apply the knowledge and develop it further. A computer calculating something is not necessarily going to enable you to know whether you can improve what you have done or even whether you have entered the data correctly.
I know of at least 3 qualified engineers and more who would call themselves engineers and I'm absolutely confident that none of them can do Integration although (the three at least) will have done it when they were at uni.
Anyway that's my view. To what you said Neofolis I won't repeat what I've already written which covers my view on that lot. I give up now especially since I seem to be on my own here!
Anyway that's my view. To what you said Neofolis I won't repeat what I've already written which covers my view on that lot. I give up now especially since I seem to be on my own here!
Just take the consolation that being on your own doesn't make you wrong, just different.
I'm not stupid if I thought I was wrong I wouldn't have said it!
OK and the point of that comment was.
OK and the point of that comment was.Neofolis said:
Shhhh, he might not notice.
neofolis said:
Me said:
My comment was intended to indicate that your was unnecessary. So you follow this up saying mine was pointless! Well I was just responding to you and if you didn't write your pointless comment I wouldn't have had to write mine!
In the same way if you didn't keep going on about nothing in particular I wouldn't have felt the need to write this to justify what I said!
Damn, I've been rumbled, someone noticed that everything I write is pointless. Hmmm, gonna have to try harder to disguise my spam.
That's a fairly pointless post.
