I don't like thinking of math as something you "like" or "dislike". Whereas, say, a song elicits a response (sometimes pleasure, sometimes not), math is a universal property of things. It's not like you can change the multiplication table if you don't like the numbers in it - they aren't a matter of opinion. I think a lot of students would do better in their math classes if they stopped thinking about "liking" and "disliking" it - it's irrelevant. Do you "like" or "dislike" electricity?
Do You Like Math?
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May 12, 2021
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#63
Knights_of_Doom wrote:
I don't like thinking of math as something you "like" or "dislike". Whereas, say, a song elicits a response (sometimes pleasure, sometimes not), math is a universal property of things. It's not like you can change the multiplication table if you don't like the numbers in it - they aren't a matter of opinion. I think a lot of students would do better in their math classes if they stopped thinking about "liking" and "disliking" it - it's irrelevant. Do you "like" or "dislike" electricity?
it's not disliking the components of math, but disliking the process of using it
germaniumjy wrote:
It’s funny how people on this forum mistakenly equate “like math” to “like mental addiction/multiplications.” Take any college analysis course and work on some proofs and then let’s talk about if one “like math” or not.
I agree, or get into a prestigious competition if you are a pre-college student such as USAJMO/USAMO/MOP
Indeed, I run up against similar notions constantly, which I don't mind because I understand that most people don't understand university-level math. I do think math means different things to different people though (especially to the uninitiated); just because something is not pure math doesn't mean it's not "real" math. But yes, strictly speaking, math consists of definitions/theorems/proofs/heuristics/analogies rather than just calculation/simple arithmetic.