Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
1–10 of 72 posts
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#2I found this while doing some research on collision detection algorithms. All math classes should incorporate game programming, I sure would have paid more attention.
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#3I found this while doing some research on collision detection algorithms. All math classes should incorporate game programming, I sure would have paid more attention.
Isn't this a classic case of "What works for me must work for everyone." ??
Not everyone is interested in games, not everyone is interested in programming. One source of motivation should not be forced on everyone, there should be a wide range.
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#4I found this while doing some research on collision detection algorithms. All math classes should incorporate game programming, I sure would have paid more attention.
Isn't this a classic case of "What works for me must work for everyone." ?? Not everyone is interested in games, not everyone is interested in programming. One source of motivation should not be forced on everyone, there should be a wide range.
Possibly. Any "real world" application would have been better than just theory. But games seem like a natural extension of math lessons, and who doesn't like games?
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#5I found this while doing some research on collision detection algorithms. All math classes should incorporate game programming, I sure would have paid more attention.
Isn't this a classic case of "What works for me must work for everyone." ?? Not everyone is interested in games, not everyone is interested in programming. One source of motivation should not be forced on everyone, there should be a wide range.
[deleted]
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't this a classic case of "What works for me must work for everyone." ?? Not everyone is interested in games, not everyone is interested in programming. One source of motivation should not be forced on everyone, there should be a wide range.
Possibly. Any "real world" application would have been better than just theory. But games seem like a natural extension of math lessons, and who doesn't like games?
I agree, it's not a case of "What works for me must work for everyone" but more a case of "applying theory helps learning, especially when it's fun". I still haven't found anyone who doesn't like any game, so as long as there are a few different possibilities it DOES work for everyone.
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't this a classic case of "What works for me must work for everyone." ?? Not everyone is interested in games, not everyone is interested in programming. One source of motivation should not be forced on everyone, there should be a wide range.
Possibly. Any "real world" application would have been better than just theory. But games seem like a natural extension of math lessons, and who doesn't like games?
Agreed. I remember learning trig at high school, without any motivation being presented whatsoever. Just 'lets calculate what this equation looks like' - what it came time to the government mandated project, there was a practical use - graphing the movement of a pendulum clock - which made it much easier to learn.
And yes, who doesn't like games?
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#8I used their videos on youtube while taking a linear algebra course last semester when I needed an extra lesson on a particular topic. I highly recommend them. Everything I saw was presented in a clear, well articulated matter that made it much, much easier to understand than just reading something out of a book.
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't this a classic case of "What works for me must work for everyone." ?? Not everyone is interested in games, not everyone is interested in programming. One source of motivation should not be forced on everyone, there should be a wide range.
Possibly. Any "real world" application would have been better than just theory. But games seem like a natural extension of math lessons, and who doesn't like games?
Well, just to provide a single example, my wife is totally disinterested in games. Absolutely doesn't care, to the point where if someone tries to motivate topic X via games she ends up feeling that topic X cannot have any value to her at all. By contrast, she is very interested in math, and wishes that at school it had been presented as other than a collection of facts to memorize and processes to learn and apply.
I know of others who have a similar attitude to games, and now, as I approach 50, I can't care much about them either.
Games aren't "Real World."
If you want "Real World" motivation then find some stuff from the real world.
To add some context, I am passionate about putting things in context and making them relevant. I visit schools to talk about uses of math, and explaining how these subjects are anything but isolated and irrelevant stuff to learn and hoops to jump through. I've given talks in venues such as the West Yorkshore Playhouse, the Royal Exchange in Manchester, the Criterion Theatre in the West End of London, Navy Pier in Chicago, and others around the world. I give examples from GPS and SatNav through intercepting drugs couriers and on to gene splicing and DNA analysis. I talk about finding cliques and connections in social networks, and then apply that to detecting plaigarism and ranking web sites. I talk about weather forecasting, roulette, life assurance and debt management.
I mention them in passing when relevant, but I don't talk much about games.
Re: Need to refresh your math skills? From basic algebra to calculus and beyond.
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Possibly. Any "real world" application would have been better than just theory. But games seem like a natural extension of math lessons, and who doesn't like games?
Well, just to provide a single example, my wife is totally disinterested in games. Absolutely doesn't care, to the point where if someone tries to motivate topic X via games she ends up feeling that topic X cannot have any value to her at all. By contrast, she is very interested in math, and wishes that at school it had been presented as other than a collection of facts to memorize and processes to learn and apply. I…
At school, usually the vast majority of people is interested in games. Of course you can never satisfy everyone, but that's not a good reason IMO to not do anything just because a few people might not like it.