Friday, September 4, 2009

Math…So, really, besides calculating a tip or a good deal, who needs it? I was thinking about this the other day. I was always decent at math, but I have to be honest, it’s not my “thing.” The idea of working with numbers all day long is…I’ll just leave it as..."unappealing." It's like the time I found myself with go-go boots and love beads in the Engineering Building at LSU, and a friend from one of my English classes (Jesse) asked in a hushed voice, "What are YOU doing here?" Yeah...I just needed to print something, but I felt like a total freak in that building.

OKAY, I get the need to 1. Add, 2. Subtract, 3. Multiply, and at times, 4. Divide, but for real, we DO have calculators. Does anyone in education realize this? I think it’s good to teach kids to do these things, but as adults, how many of us do multiplication tables with three digit numbers four layers thick? We break out the ol' calculator, but like I said, the Fab Four of numbers – I “get.”There are other aspects of math, however, that I don’t “get.” Take “F.O.I.L.” Remember this from algebra? “First, Outer, Inner, Last?” Whaaaaa? So, when does this scenario happen in real life?

Let's explore "F.O.I.L." (This is straight from a math website):"What if you have something like this: (4x + 6)(x + 2)? That's where we use the FOIL method. FOIL means first, outside, inside, last. That's not too hard to remember if you say it in your head a few times." http://www.freemathhelp.com/using-foil.htmlSOOOOO...I am just trying to imagine this "F.O.I.L." thing occurring...Hmmmmm...I know! You’re walking down the aisle in the store, and you think: “Gee, I need to use the F.O.I.L. method?” Really? I am just asking. I have never had to use F.O.I.L. besides covering up leftovers with it - chicken and what-nots.

What about “imaginary numbers.” What IS that? The last test in college, I filled in “C” because it had an imaginary thingy-ma-jig stuck in there, and I thought: “Well, “C” looks good, and I’ll be done with math forever if I fill it in.” It must have worked because I scored an “A” that semester. The mystery remains for me that with an INFINITE amount of numbers that go on FOREVER, why do we need to “imagine” more?Or “matrix” problems. Remember? What the heck?

Check this website for a view of the torture we endured in high school: http://www.sosmath.com/matrix/matrix1/matrix1.html

This is pulled from the website above:Combining this formula with the above result, we get (0.6 0.3) (0.6 0.3) = (0.6 X 0.6 + 0.3 X 0.4 0.6 X 0.3 + 0.3 X 0.7)(0.4 0.7) (0.4 0.7) (0.4 X 0.6 + 0.7 X 0.4 0.4 X 0.3 + 0.7 X 0.7)

In other words, we have
(a b) (e f) = (ae + bg af + bh)(c d) (g h) (ce + dg cf + dh)

(OH, YEAH, THAT MAKES FREAKIN’ SENSE) To me, the “Matrix” has mainly resulted in a movie with MAJOR product placement for sunglasses. Also, it reminds me of a really confusing time in my life when after seeing the “Matrix,” someone asked me when I caught on that “Neo” was the “One.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said to rearrange the letters in his name, and I thought for a minute and said “Leni?” Yeah, the symbolism was lost on me because I thought they were calling him “Neil” the whole time. What the heck kind of name is “Neo?”

So…I just thought I would bring up some old school math for everyone. Feel free to comment on when this type of advanced math comes out in real life! I would be interested to know!PS - This is totally dedicated to my big brother!!!

No comments: