Comments by "bighand69" (@bighands69) on "The Math Sorcerer" channel.

Most people when they go through school do not have a good foundation to develop their mathematical ability. Schools are obsessed with rushing through as many topics as they can with mathematics which means the students never develop that foundation. Modern mathematics is based in algebra and when students do not have basic level algebra they struggle through the rest of their mathematics. If you want build good mathematical skills start with algebra.
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@gorsama-2190 Make sure that you give your self a compete foundation in algebra. That would enable to you to go deep into mathematics.
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The reason why students at primary school and secondary school do not do well at maths is because they simply are not motivated to succeed. When you attended third level you started to get motivated and wanted to succeed. One of the biggest issues with school mathematics is the fact that it covers too many topics and what happens is that students are jack of all trades master of none. Without basis fundamental algebra most students are lost in school level mathematics because they do not have the basic fundamentals to succeed and they cannot motivate them self.
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It is a good book for those that have a good foundation in mathematics. Most modern mathematics is defined from a users point of view by algebra and basic numeracy. Without those two fundamentals the vast majority of people are simply not capable of dealing with comprehensive mathematics.
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Absolutely not suitable. If you feel you are no good at mathematics that means you probably do not have a good foundation in mathematics and do not feel confident. I would suggest that you start with algebra and master that through simple videos and books that introduce the topic. If you master that you can then go on and do pretty much anything in mathematics (with limitations of course).
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It can be an important tool but in reality it is just poor planning by those that run the courses.
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@aerius4749 Book is the foundation of learning and developing mathematical skills and videos are great in that they can give you insight to something you have not thought about yourself.
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@Morgue12free Other subjects in school are based upon the use of language such as the English language. So for example if you want to do well at economics at school you need to have good writing abilities and reading abilities. One of the problems with mathematics at school is that students do not have that basic ability and the reason they do not have it is because they simply are not motivated to develop those skills. Mathematics is not taught at third level in university it is something that the student has to work on by them self. They normally get a lecture and some tutorial time but they have to work on it them self. There are countless cases of students being good at mathematics at school and attend college and the nightlife becomes far more interesting and chasing girls becomes their main practice. And they fail miserably at mathematics.
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If you want a good pathway into algebra start with fractions and master that. Then start with basic algebra that slowly introduces fractions.
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When you attend college/university you are not doing work place training you are doing academia. So when an employer looks for a candidate what they are doing is using the college education that the person has as a guideline for their capabilities. So if you are looking for a job it does not matter if you graduate with engineering, physics, computer science or mathematics in terms of knowledge. Most employers will think of mathematics as being one of the most complex majors and they will judge a person with that major as being very capable.
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@TimTheMusicMan Companies hire on the basis of ability they are not actually interested in what you think the bit of paper means. A mathematics major could easily grasp most topics that are in engineering. To be a certified auditor you need to have done the professional exams and registration and undergraduate degree and have the valid vocational experience. You will find accountants with mathematics degrees. You will find in finance people with degrees in economics, finance, mathematics, physics and engineering. A person with a mathematics degree could be as good at mechanics as a person with a physics degree and that is with absolutely no training. A person with a mathematics degree could easily do superposition analysis for circuit design. They could easily do volume modelling that would compete with any mechanical engineering major. The idea that mathematics would lock a person in to only doing teaching or Actuary is absurd. There are engineering companies that will specifically hire Mathematics majors.
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@TimTheMusicMan Most professional bodies do not have a strict degree requirement as they are vocational based training. And their only requirements is that you meet course credits not the title of major of the degree. Medical school does not require a degree in bio medicine or Biology as people with arts degrees have got in. Now taking away professional admission into a body such as engineering, medicine or accountancy a degree in Mathematics does not make you any less employable than a degree in business. Employers have a bias towards subjects like engineering, chemistry, mathematics and physics because they see them as being more rigorous than arts degrees. You will find mathematics majors in every industry at every level. So may I ask you which do you think would be a more valuable degree for being a CFA a degree in Business or a degree in mathematics.
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Mathematics is about doing and without a good foundation for many people in high school they get lost. Mathematics in school is about cramming in as many topics as possible but with no base foundation. So there are generations of people that leave school having doing several years of mathematics but with a terrible foundation. They remember small bits from here and there and that is about it.
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@Marzaries School education mathematics does not work at present. It only suits those with a natural ability in mathematics. Those that need training to develop the skills are currently being left behind.
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@TheMathSorcerer I do not think mathematics is that tough. If people devoted as much time to mathematics as they do other things they would have a good foundation. One hour a day of mathematics over 10 years would build an exceptional set of skills for the average person.
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You need to start right at the very bottom and build a solid foundation that will carry you into more complex areas of mathematics. The school system has it all wrong in that it covers to many subjects with a very poor foundation and now modern education has this weird obsession with teaching applied mathematics without a good foundation. Start with fractions then move to factoring and repeat that over and over until you feel it is like breathing in that it is so natural you can do it without thinking. Then move to linear equations and move back and forth between that and factoring. When you do something 10 times you start to feel confident, do it 100 times and you will feel cocky and when you do something 1000 times you will feel like an expert. It takes about 5000 hours of practice to become an expert at something and that means about 20 hours per week for about 4 years.
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People cannot tackle calculus, trig or functions without a good strong basic foundation in algebra. There are exceptions to this.
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The only way to do that is to start small and build with lots of small steps. Doing small routine exercises every day can help to build a good foundation. Algebra and number theory are good places to start for a foundation in mathematics. Start out small and develop those mathematics ninja skills.
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There are areas of engineering that are really just applied mathematics with the term engineering added.
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If a person was to combined that series of books with Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs book they would have a very powerful set of foundational skills.
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