Im basically a mathematician and never use trigonometry, but I use a lot of probability and statistics every day at work.
I use them all the time for game development
My dnd group has pulled it out a time or two when cliffs are involved to figure out if you could get line of sight on someone.
We’re all engineers of some kind.
Haha that’s a great time, love having groups like that
I can’t even remember what they’re used for
Trigonometry, they’re used extensively in 3d programming
Also 2d programming. Fourier transforms for audio and image processing? You fucking bet. Basically, if it has graphics or audio, it uses sinusoids.
I always yearned to understand a practical reason to learn calculus. My teacher at college was a German woman that spoke English with a thick accent. Her joy for the course seemed self-evident, but she failed to ever share a real-world reason or application for what we were trying to learn. 45 years later,I still haven’t used what I “learned”, or ever came to understand why we did.
No one knows what a 12 year old is gonna end up doing with their life. It’s better to give them as many tools so they have the opportunity to follow through with something. A kid wont grow up to be an engineer if they didn’t learn geometry fundamentals in middle school, or a nurse if they didn’t learn basic anatomy, or a chemical engineer if they didn’t learn how chemical reactions occur.
This has always been my biggest gripe. I took linear algebra for 1 semester and while I passed, I never understood the point. Next semester I took computer graphics and everything clicked. I had a simial experience with taking Calculus and Physics. It only made sense once I understood the application.
I always yearned to understand a practical reason to learn calculus.
I use my understanding of second and third derivatives and the risks and how they affect the likelihood of black swan events - to choose (strongly influence) who loses when playing a game of “Liars Dice”. So there is that, I guess.
On a more serious note, lots of things in personal finance are a bit easier to understand with a functional understanding of derivatives and integrals. It’s not critical, but it makes stuff like the compounding time effect of interest more accessible, I think.
Edit: If I could change one thing about pubic schools, I think everyone should get a chance to take stats or probability for free. It helps so much with so many areas of life.
pubic schools
My favorite kind of typo right here.
The thing is, without learning basic math and physics in school, most people would probably be flat earthers or some other type of degenerates.
Without knowing/understanding that it’s possible to go the moon, or understanding why rubbing a stick against another stick makes fire, all the nonsense ideas that are the “easiest” to accept would prevail.
Let’s say I tell you that 2+2=5. If you know that 1+1=2, you can reasonably deduct that what I’m saying is false. If you know or atleast have seen how to do calculations with gravity, you can reasonably understand that it’s possible to figure out how to put a rocket in space. You probably won’t be able to do it yourself, but you understand that it’s possible.
I mean wasn’t soh cah toa written at that abandoned colony. Bad juju man
You’re literally using a device powered by electricity that extensively relies on an understanding, implementation and exploitation of sinusoidal maths.
Ah, the irony of operating a video compression algorithm while claiming you never use trigonometry.
This is the weirdest ad for MATLAB I’ve seen today
I literally, 30 seconds ago, used sin^-1() to calculate the angle for a roof I need to make for my indoor greenhouse, so the asshole cats don’t fall through the cheap plastic
Always a good day when you have to break out arcsine
If you use nothing from school then you’re going about life wrong. Reach higher.
It’s also a day without using anything he learned in art, or geography, or chemistry, or English literature, or history, or pretty much anything he studied in school after age 10. Why does math get singled out?
Because math is abstract and difficult to relate to. We should be taught practical applications of the abstract concepts, and the exam questions should be more practical.
I demand only the practical parts of art and history be taught in school.
Also - the questions that focus on practical applications are called word problems, and they get complained about more than anything else.
The biggest thing I learned from math was training yourself to think and problem solve. To always want to learn the next level of whatever you were learning, whether it’s math English or whatever.
I don’t think I’ve ever used much math knowledge in my life … but it gave me the ability and enthusiasm of wanting to always want to solve a problem no matter how complex it was.
yeah i think most of us were taught by people who didn’t “understand” math either, so we don’t really get what it is that we’re doing, we just memorize the process to get the numbers to match, which isnt fun at all. I had a very difficult time in school with math.
When i was reintroduced to math functions as an electrician (and an adult) and the numbersoup actually described tactile, real world connections i had a much more fun time learning them.
The reason why they’re abstract and difficult to relate to is because we’re all being taught maths backwards.
In science, a phenomenon is observed and then maths is used to create a set of equations describe it’s behaviour. Then using the equations, other experiments can be designed to prove other hypothesises. This is known as the experimentalist approach to science.
Engineering is the same but less research and more application focused. For example, I need to design a wooden shelf that is A inches/meters long and supports B lb/kg of weight. How do I do that? Using trigonometry and Newtonian physics to work out the dimensions.
Finance is often used for basic algebra and calculus.
However, it is not always helpful to work in the material when using mathematics and the abstract is preferred. This is usually only useful for the theoretical approach in science, in theoretical mathematics, or at the cutting edge of engineering disciplines.
If we were taught by being presented with a problem first, I think it would make it easier to make the leap into the abstract when required for other applications. And on top of this, it would make it much easier for the majority who only ever need to use mathematics as a tool.
“If Johnny has 3 apples, and Jane takes 1 apple, how many apples does Johnny have?”
Lmao you already answered the question in the first 5 words, Johnny has 3 apples
Depends.
Did Jane take an apple from the only source of apples stated in the question; Johnny? If so then 2.
Did Jane take one apple from a source not stated in the question. If so then 3.
Has Jonny eaten any of his apples? If so then |3-n| where n is the number of apples Johnny has eaten.
I would have certainly loved it if they showed me the actual problem and then solve it with math, instead of showing how to solve abstract, non-real-world problems in math using a bunch of complicated theorems that you just have to memorize (I know they can be solved, but you still have to memorize them for when you need to use them).
Why do you euros always call it “maths”?
Why do you Americans always call it “math?”
Because there is no need to pluralize the word. Math is short for “mathematics” so writing “maths” just makes you look stupid.
Ultimately it’s the same reason why you don’t say “admins” for administrator or detoxs for detoxification.
Do you say flus? No you say flu because it’s the shortened version of influenza.
Maths is short for mathematics, and neither is plural. Math, maths, and mathematics are all equally correct. I love when Americans tell people they look stupid because they don’t do something the way Americans do it.
Nah just euros doing dumb stuff. I love it when you euros get all upset
I think it’s because some types of math are kind of all or nothing, either you know it or you don’t. If you recall half of what you learned in history you have some usable knowledge.
I use basic math daily. I use algebra frequently.
I have not use trigonometry since I passed high school trigonometry.
Most people in modern society don’t use it.
3d graphics and video games use a lot of trig
have you ever played a video game where you’re throwing a grenade and the UI shows you where the grenade will land?
Just trying to think of the most basic uses of trig that would occur.
Without learning about how the trigonometric relationships of a throw relate to the physics of it, I don’t think a person that sees no value in knowing trig, sin and cos would change their mind.
I like to view things with quantum physics in mind. “That’s weird and counter-intuitive…”, “I guess it’s meant to be that way.”
Obviously it doesn’t apply to everything, and often your gut feeling is probably right. But the philosophy helps in keeping an open mind.
With trigonometry, you don’t use it directly, but AC electricity and radio waves (eg WiFi or your phone) extensively rely on it.
Because hurr durr math hard
Another day of not needing to know that Constantinople was the capitol of the Byzantine Empire.
Of course these days they go by a different name. Not sure why tho
They call it Istanbul, not Constantinople
Istanbul, not Constantinople?
Been a long time gone, Constaninople. But why did Constantinople get the works!?
Something something Turks
What do you mean, cuz? You literally sin every day. 🤡
I prefer to cosin.
No bro, that’s illegal in most states.
This is dumb. Just because you don’t use logarithms doesn’t mean you never use deduction or process of elimination. Math is not solely about the numbers. The process is far more beneficial in many disciplines.
Also, the smart kids in class sure use them often enough.
The same vain is people arguing that schools should be teaching important things like budgeting, interest rates, taxes etc.
These things a trivial if you have the maths skills. These things are also subject to change, the maths doesn’t.
Worst of all, these things are all taught (in Scotland), the people complaining about school not teaching them weren’t paying attention.
Machinist, Drafter, all about that SOHCAHTOA Life 🔫🔫😎
I use sin all the time.
