how did you guys do in mathematical proofs?

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i just had this exam and i totally failed it. i have ocd and i have a hard time concentrating and also i might have add. i don't listen to lectures most of the time and i think i study things that aren't quire related to the things on the exam. i have hard time studying in general. im on meds and i have a psychiatrist. could it be that im below-average intelligence?

the math prof is someone that i like a lot. i want to date him. i get accomodations from the disability resource center, but i handed in my exam form late, but my prof tried to tell them to overlook the late form and he was saying how it is sh***y of them, they're as*holes, and he's a bit annoyed and pissed off. i thought he would just tell me to write it in class. i think he's being really nice. would i even be able to date him even if i just pass this course? i also failed the last one, but he said he would work out something. taking my other failed exam and not couting this one that i failed lol. he is 15 years older than me, but he's very handsome, slim, witty, humourous, nice, maybe tall, very hot, maybe athletic and sensitive. he is not an aspie at all, but i am. he seems like one of those guys that are extremely intuitive and social.

could it possibly be that he likes me that he's trying to help me even when i handed in the form late? i mean i assume other profs wouldn't even bother about a late form. i told him that i could write it at the department, deferred or just in class. i was thinking that he's trying to help me because i failed my last exam and i went for help a lot recently.

Last edited by diehard on 12 Mar 2009, 2:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

What you need for maths is a refined approach in learning it and then applying problem solving skills. Most maths papers are not going to ask for a proof more than a couple of manipulations from the definition. What you need is a solid grasp of the definitions and theorems, then lots of practise using them.

Ignore thoughts of stupidity. Intelligence is a clever lie.

As for the rest, insufficient information. It is typically ill advised, though.

I couldn't do proofs because I always thought the proofs were self-evident, sort of a "Do I REALLY need to explain this? Are you THAT stupid?" thing.

I knew math but I could never show my work so I could only get As on tests that didn't require showing work.

I am having the same problem at the moment! It always seems so obvious! I'm a visual thinker, so I can see, using the picture in my head, that it is true, but I never know how to prove it symbolically. That's why I like physics far better than math.

I'm not entirely sure what the initial post was asking. Are you asking if others have trouble with proofs or for advice about your math professor?

lousy

I hate maths, I think too much in pictures for maths.

I am a mathophobe chemist. If you hate maths and want to do science then do either organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry or biology.

There's a broom somewhere with your name on it. I think you should consider getting a job, not studying.

The broom comment is kinda harsh!
I couldn't do math either but am very good with earth science/biology and other subjects. Stick with what you like and are good at and you will have more fun in life.

Lonermutant, you are acting like an absolute jerk and you are not using a lick of logic. Somebody doesn't use capital letters, has a difficult time with a math class, and suddenly you think they shouldn't be going to uni?

Besides, why do you think using a broom is any easier than using a textbook? For me, it's impossible to get a job as a janitor. I can't survive it more than two months. And yet I'm getting a 4.0 in college. (By the way, I used to fail classes, when I had depression and no accommodations. It's possible to come back from bad grades, if you figure out what the problem is and fix it.) You need to get over the idea that some jobs are intrinsically "easier" than others.

To the OP, regarding dating your prof: You had better wait until you graduate--it's a huge breach of ethics for a prof to date a student; otherwise it could be argued that the relationship influences the way he grades the student's work.

I think that accepting help in school is selfish, because you steal resources that could be used on the most gifted students. There are too many language and history students with a "C" in math today.

Take a look at "How to Read and Do Mathematical Proofs" by Daniel Solow

Also "How to Solve It" by Polya.



ruveyn

no wonder why nothing is your job

If you have a problem with math, then why the heck are you in College?!

Why do you take out your bitterness on people who don't deserve to have to put up with that sh*t? If you don't have anything nice to say go away.

It's not selfish, and to say so makes it really obvious you haven't thought about this.

We're not talking about students who can't do the work here. Those students wouldn't be able to do the work no matter how much help they received. If you have a student who can't pass the class, then he won't pass even with unlimited testing time, a personal tutor every day, somebody to organize his assignment notebook for him, private study rooms, and just about every accommodation you can think of. If he can't pass it, then he won't pass it no matter what help he gets.

On the other hand, if you have a student who CAN pass the class, but isn't doing so because something unrelated to ability to do the work is holding him back--say, he's got bad attention control, or has a hard time reading, or he's got a brain that tires out easily or processes things slowly--then accommodations will help. When he gets the help he needs, he's able to show his actual skill.

The most gifted students often don't need those accommodations and wouldn't do any better with them. On the other hand, some of the most gifted students would fail without them, when gifted combines with learning disabled or some other problem that keeps you from showing what you've got.

School isn't a charity, anyway. You're going to have to pay those loans back. Supply=demand. You're not taking limited resources--if your school's disability services department is overloaded, they'll hire more people because, most likely, they now have more students.

If you're studying history, there is no problem with getting a "C" in math. You're not going to be doing more than basic math if you're teaching or researching history. You don't have to be good at everything. Sure, you should try for the A, but non-major classes simply aren't as important in the long-term. Now, if a history major is getting Cs on basic history classes, there's a problem--though you can't presume it's lack of ability.

Asking for help is not wrong. Usually, when you ask for help, you are more independent and capable with it than without it, because if you have help, you don't just have accommodation for the skill you're bad at--you also have access to all the activities that have that skill as a prerequisite.