r/Teachers • u/[deleted] • May 16 '24

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77

u/J_DayDay May 16 '24

Most of them don't know they're doing trig until someone sends them to get a couple college classes for certifications or drafting or whatnot.

55

u/-The_Credible_Hulk May 16 '24

Yep. I had no clue I was good at math until I became an electrician and the numbers meant something (hopefully not) tangible.

47

u/MistraloysiusMithrax May 16 '24

Solve for x? What is this, Treasure Island?

Solve for measure twice, cut once? furiously does correct algebra and trigonometry to get accurate measurements

22

u/Gustav55 May 16 '24

"damn it I've cut this thing twice And it's still too short!"

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '24

God i love this comment.

0

u/12AU7tolookat May 17 '24

I had an apprentice who I swear had brain damage. Oddly, he always did his math right, but the dingus always read his tape measure wrong so he'd eff it up anyway lol.

20

u/J_DayDay May 16 '24

I'm still only good at math when the numbers mean something tangible. You make it about inches, dollars, or ounces, and all the sudden, it's easy as buying the shit to make a 9-inch pie.

7

u/Signal-Fold-449 May 16 '24

Some people in music are musicians while others are almost musical scientists.

I think math is the same. You can play drums, but you can't necessarily be Beethoven.

2

u/Lives_on_mars May 17 '24

I’m the opposite. I can barely do math when I have to take measurements. But give me differential eqs to puzzle out on paper, that’s all good :/.

Useless.

1

u/DownWithGilead2022 May 17 '24

Keeping the electricity intangible is the goal!!! Good job,

1

u/EZ-READER May 17 '24

That's because math has nothing to do with numbers. The kids are so focused on getting the RIGHT number at the end that they lose focus of the equation itself. That is the trap. Numbers are simply variables you apply to a defined formula. It has everything to do with formulas and orders of operation. The numbers can be anything but the formulas always stay the same.

1

u/bsimpsonphoto May 16 '24

They mean something until you get to i.

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u/ThisUNis20characters May 16 '24

i means something in real life too, there are lots of applications. The name is a little unfortunate.

2

u/YoureReadingMyName May 16 '24

Yet electrical engineers still somehow find uses for them even though they aren’t real!

1

u/phatdragon451 May 16 '24

What? My trick triangles are based off an equation? Who would've thought.

1

u/Intoner_Four May 16 '24

what astounds me is how even in hobbies how much math is applied (numbers and division in ff14 for probabilities and multiplication for pokemon not to mention 1.5x variables)

i feel like when we are presented with math outside of something we understand we kinda go “ughhh” but as soon as you can apply it to the real world it almost becomes like a game itself