Earlier quoted context omitted.
More like give a man a computer and he'll start looking at porn.
What if s/he had to write a perl script to download it though?
Well funny story because that's how I learned perl ...
To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
21–30 of 243 posts
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#22Based on all the supposed benefits of doing math, it sounds like people would be better off studying philosophy. Same benefits but a much broader appeal, and far more applicable to most people's everyday lives. When I finally "discovered" philosophy in college, I was angry that we hadn't been exposed to it at all in middle or high school. Instead, I'd been forced to waste years on things like math, biology, etc. that…
Math classes ramp up in a gradual way that develops critical thinking and intuition in a very small sandbox, where it's easier to appreciate the results. Thinking in, say, just the x-y plane makes it far easier to isolate relationships than philosophy, which tackles much bigger problems and gets you into controversial problems almost immediately, with no clear answers. The basic math framework is rigid and precise, whereas philosophy only gets that rigidity at much higher levels where, guess what, it starts to merge with the field of mathematical logic.
Of course, a one size approach won't fit everybody.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#23Based on all the supposed benefits of doing math, it sounds like people would be better off studying philosophy. Same benefits but a much broader appeal, and far more applicable to most people's everyday lives. When I finally "discovered" philosophy in college, I was angry that we hadn't been exposed to it at all in middle or high school. Instead, I'd been forced to waste years on things like math, biology, etc. that…
Could you expand on this? I'm curious what you mean. My only exposure to philosophy was an intro course in college.
What is the philosophy behind arrow functions in JavaScript? Should I just use them blindly, or should I understand why this exists and why/when I should use it? What problem does it solve? Why?!
In my opinion every article about some aspect of programming should begin what an explanation of the philosophy behind it's development. Why does this exist? What problem does it solve? When should it be used/not used?
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#24Based on all the supposed benefits of doing math, it sounds like people would be better off studying philosophy. Same benefits but a much broader appeal, and far more applicable to most people's everyday lives. When I finally "discovered" philosophy in college, I was angry that we hadn't been exposed to it at all in middle or high school. Instead, I'd been forced to waste years on things like math, biology, etc. that…
I majored in both math and philosophy. I know many people who hold the exact opposite opinion from you, placing high value on math and considering philosophy a complete waste of time.
Certainly the quality and focus of instruction is a huge factor in determining how much a student enjoys the subject as well as how much long term benefit they receive from it. I've had both math and philosophy classes that I loved and many that I hated.
I think the largest benefit to the most people would come from focusing on where math and philosophy meet and overlap: logic, analysis, how to create and evaluate an argument/proof, the limits of human understanding, etc. Both math and philosophy have much to say on these matters. By focusing on both disciplines, maybe it will be easier to avoid reducing math to boring memorization of computational rules and philosophy to "pie in the sky" mental masturbation detached from all reality.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#25it reminds me of the awesome team who get involved with the numberphile youtube series. guys like james grimes and matt parker. inspiring the love.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#26Based on all the supposed benefits of doing math, it sounds like people would be better off studying philosophy. Same benefits but a much broader appeal, and far more applicable to most people's everyday lives. When I finally "discovered" philosophy in college, I was angry that we hadn't been exposed to it at all in middle or high school. Instead, I'd been forced to waste years on things like math, biology, etc. that…
I agree that Philosophy is important, and probably more so as you say, but a love of Philosophy and an appreciation for Mathematics is hard to beat.
Philosophy can invite discord due to the circular nature of using language to define language with the intention that this is supposed to bring clarity to our reasoning. Not to mention that the name "Philosophy" is often co-opted by charlatans to advance their brands.
But Philosophy coupled with Mathematics brings a kind of calm that's removed from language and an appreciation for simple, provable, truths.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#27Based on all the supposed benefits of doing math, it sounds like people would be better off studying philosophy. Same benefits but a much broader appeal, and far more applicable to most people's everyday lives. When I finally "discovered" philosophy in college, I was angry that we hadn't been exposed to it at all in middle or high school. Instead, I'd been forced to waste years on things like math, biology, etc. that…
> and far more applicable to most people's everyday lives.
I guess we'll just have to completely disagree on that.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#28Francis is a great lecturer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqEyWLGvvdw&list=PL04BA7A9EB...
Thanks for the link! I'm going to try to set aside some time to watch these lectures in the future. I've always wanted to learn more math in my spare time, but I've been unsure how to approach it outside of a classroom.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#29I wonder if inmates have access to computers, would they become good programmers?
Give anyone (not just inmates) a computer and they are much more likely to become good Candy Crush players, Facebook users, and Buzzfeed readers than good programmers.
without internet or games maybe. could be a linux install with no desktop, and a book about python.
Re: To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
#30Everyone I know who went to his MAA farewell address said it was wonderful. Definitely follow their link to read or hear the whole thing: https://mathyawp.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/mathematics-for-hu...
There's a link at the top of your linked site to an audio recording - maybe it was recently edited in
The Wayback machine does not absolve me—probably I just missed it twice. Thank you.