phaeton said:
Seriousry.
Math was pure tedium when I was in high school. I programmed my
computer to do my math homework for me. As a result, I didn't learn
much. I'm paying the price now. In fact, the first few times I've tried
getting started in electronics as a hobby over the last 10-15 years, it
was the math that kicked my ass and made me give up. The first example
in AoE (1 foot wide power cable powering NYC) makes me feel like a
class A dunce.
Well dammit, I think I've wasted enough time. I've got a couple of
books from a local used book store that specifically deal with
algebra/trig/calculus and such that applies to electronics. Going
through the first chapter, so far I've surprised myself in how much I
*did* learn, and still remember, but surely I've got a long uphill
struggle ahead.
I'm sure that I'm quite the black sheep in all this (the geek that
hates math), but is there any hope? Have any of you learned the math
from basic algebra up?
Thoughts?
I too sucked in HS. I was into computers though and then got into computer
graphics. I couldn't understand any of it. I didn't know what cos or sin
ment or even what = really ment. This was about when I was 16-18 or so.
There was a local library sale and I picked up some books on algebra, trig,
and geometry for a few bucks. After having them for a few months and trying
to learn 3D programming I then realized I would make myself work through the
books. I really wanted to know what a matrix was and what a dot product was
and such. Then for the next few months I worked through the books. I forced
myself to understand and figure out what was going on. I didn't know how to
multiply fractions.
They had something like, say
3 9 27
- x - = --
4 5 20
I had no idea what that ment and how they got it but I realized very quickly
what htey were doing is multiplying the top to get the new top and
multiplying the bottom to get the new bottom.
For addition it was harder. I'd read what they were saying but just didn't
really understand it. I had to sit down and look at what they started and
what they ended up with and try to figure out how to do that and then test
what I thought they did.
Eventually I picked it up quite quickly and it wasn't hard at all. Its very
simple stuff but you just have to work at it. I then moved on to college and
got a degree in applied math. It really is amazing stuff and very fun to do
once you realize it's not hard but just requires some attention.
Make sure though that you start from the basics if you don't have a good
foundation. If your foundation is weak everything you build on top of it
will be weak too. i.e., it won't do you much good to jump into calculus if
you don't know "precalculus"(which is pretty much just a sum of everything
before). Being very strong in algebra should make it much easier as
everything is based off that. Calculus is very simple ideas that are taken
to the "extreme". The fundamental concept in calculus is limits. Limits are
very simple to understand if you put in a little effort. Once you understand
that then you can easily understand derivatives and integration. This about
all you really need to know to do well in electronics. Its not even
necessary but sheds some more light on the more basic concepts(i.e.,
functions).
Two things to note though is that sometimes the problem with understanding
something is the context and time. Either it has to be put in the right
words for you to understand or sometimes it just takes time for it to sink
in. Don't be afraid to read something 10-20 times to get it. When working
through math books you might have to spend 10x longer on a chapter than
reading a work of fiction. Once you get get the foundation built you will
get better at it and it won't take as long. The majority of mathematics is
really learning a language and how to use it. You already know most of the
concepts such as limits, integration, derivatives, functions and such. Its
just a matter of understanding and refining them in an intellectual way and
being able to have a language where you can communicate those ideas with
others.
If you are serious about mathematics then it will pay off. It will open up
many doors for you. You will even see mathematics in things that you might
never have though they had anything to do with it. Math is everywhere. Math
isn't just numbers but its training your brain to think about things in an
intellectual way.
Again though, you have to realize that its not hard because its hard but
simply that it takes time... it does get easier though. In fact, your brain
might give up after you having to force feed it some concepts and then just
shut down where nothing makes sense. But give it a little free time then
try it again. Your brain will realize that you mean buisiness and then will
try to make it easier.
Its all up to you though. If you really want it then you can have it. Don't
expect it to be easy though, atleast first. There are many resources on the
internet too that can help you. You can goto sci.math and post questions(no
matter how basic) if you get stuck, but don't ask for help until you have
tried many times to understand. The reason for this is many times you will
get the result without doing anything. Your subconscious will work on the
problem and eventually solve it. Many times I had no clue about how to do
something and spend many hours on it only to wake up the next day with the
answer(which is very rewarding). If you always ask for help then you will
only end up using that as a crutch and never really learn to figure things
out for yourself. (and this is probably the hardest part of math) It will
get easier though.
Have fun and good luck,
Jon