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real analysis makes me want to hurt myself

Random Variable

Random Variable

Lifer
Rigorously proving that 0<1 or that (-x)(-y)=xy borders on insanity. 😕

It's the last math class I have to take before I graduate. (Well, technically I didn't HAVE to take it because it's not a required class for applied math majors, but my adviser said I should take it anyways.)

UPDATE: The class is difficult, but it's not as painful as I thought it would be. We have already covered ordered fields, the completeness axiom, topology of the real numbers, and compact sets. We're currently covering the limits of sequences.
 
Ha.. I thought I had it bad. I spent 2 hours to get half of my Math 107 (Precalculus) assignment done today. I got up to calculus in high school but haven't done it in three years and have to start all over. Fun!

Mine is for an Economics minor.. I have to get through Calculus to get it.
 
Originally posted by: chrisms
Ha.. I thought I had it bad. I spent 2 hours to get half of my Math 107 (Precalculus) assignment done today. I got up to calculus in high school but haven't done it in three years and have to start all over. Fun!

Mine is for an Economics minor.. I have to get through Calculus to get it.
Click to expand...

I didn't take calculus in high school.
 
Originally posted by: Random Variable
Rigorously proving that 0<1 or that (-x)(-y)=xy borders on insanity. 😕
Click to expand...

Those are actually two of the easiest things to prove in real analysis.

But having taught that class several times, I can feel your pain.
 
Originally posted by: chrisms
Ha.. I thought I had it bad. I spent 2 hours to get half of my Math 107 (Precalculus) assignment done today. I got up to calculus in high school but haven't done it in three years and have to start all over. Fun!

Mine is for an Economics minor.. I have to get through Calculus to get it.
Click to expand...

my professor for "introduction to mechanics of materials" said... "yeah, the homework should take an hour or an hour and a half"...


BULL$HIT! i spent 4+ hours on it, and im definitely not a retard 😛
 
Originally posted by: chuckywang
I liked that class.
Click to expand...
Me too, but I took it after 2 semesters of formal logic and a lower level "proofs" class.

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
Click to expand...

What in particular did you like about numerical analysis?
 
Originally posted by: mrkun
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
Click to expand...

What in particular did you like about numerical analysis?
Click to expand...
The material and homework was just fun to me, and I could see how it would be interesting to work on approximation and optimization functions.

I also enjoyed some of the similar (optimization) material covered in a couple of Operations Research classes I took with the business department, as well as the neural nets (approximation) and heuristic search (optimization) material in my AI classes.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: mrkun
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
Click to expand...

What in particular did you like about numerical analysis?
Click to expand...
The material and homework was just fun to me, and I could see how it would be interesting to work on approximation and optimization functions.

I also enjoyed some of the similar (optimization) material covered in a couple of Operations Research classes I took with the business department, as well as the neural nets (approximation) and heuristic search (optimization) material in my AI classes.
Click to expand...

Ah, cool. I have to take it next year, so I was curious.
 
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Originally posted by: hypn0tik
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Math is pure memorization. No reason to not get all straight A's. 😛
Click to expand...
Hahahaha.
Click to expand...
I take it you don't have photographic memory too... my bad. 😱
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So for proofs classes like real analysis do you find someone else's proofs to copy instead of writing your own?

Or are you just talking about rote classes where you can memorize a simple formula?
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Originally posted by: hypn0tik
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Math is pure memorization. No reason to not get all straight A's. 😛
Click to expand...
Hahahaha.
Click to expand...
I take it you don't have photographic memory too... my bad. 😱
Click to expand...
So for proofs classes like real analysis do you find someone else's proofs to copy instead of writing your own?

Or are you just talking about rote classes where you can memorize a simple formula?
Click to expand...
Proofs are just more memorization. There is very little new in mathmatics being taught at the college level these days.

 
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Originally posted by: hypn0tik
Originally posted by: Beachboy
Math is pure memorization. No reason to not get all straight A's. 😛
Click to expand...
Hahahaha.
Click to expand...
I take it you don't have photographic memory too... my bad. 😱
Click to expand...
So for proofs classes like real analysis do you find someone else's proofs to copy instead of writing your own?

Or are you just talking about rote classes where you can memorize a simple formula?
Click to expand...
Proofs are just more memorization. There is very little new in mathmatics being taught at the college level these days.
Click to expand...

Pure memorization if you can find a source for the original that you can understand or put into words that a prof will believe you will be able to do. Many proofs available for the simple stuff in undergrad and lower grad level classes draw on concepts many won't see for a while, so a prof can easily call BS. Additionally, memorizing a hundred or more proofs given over 5 weeks before an exam is really unfeasible, even with mnemonic memorization techniques. Furthermore, while many proofs given in class are of the regurgitated nature, most challenging profs will come up with their own problems that require creative thinking and problem solving skills, as you can't just google the answer. Seriously, I'll give you a realistic math exam for any undergraduate math class and I guarantee you won't be able to copy and paste in more than one 'memorized' answer.

 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: chuckywang
I liked that class.
Click to expand...
Me too, but I took it after 2 semesters of formal logic and a lower level "proofs" class.

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
Click to expand...


I hated grad level numerical analysis. Many numerical algorithms were non-intuitive for me. For example, "the standard" algebraic way of finding eigenvalues is pretty straightforward but you can't write code to do it that way (because of the limited precision of floating point math) and the proper way to do it was non-intuitive to me. We had to code it in matlab to implement this and it was just pure luck I was able to do it (it's hard to debug something when you don't really understand the algorithm). The professor in my class was somebody kind of well known in numerical analysis circles I think -- I got the feeling he was involved with a lot of the implementation of matlab's internal algorithms.

One thing that bothered me was that I would do extremely well in my senior (400 level) math courses but struggled in grad level math courses....
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: mrkun
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
Click to expand...

What in particular did you like about numerical analysis?
Click to expand...
The material and homework was just fun to me, and I could see how it would be interesting to work on approximation and optimization functions.

I also enjoyed some of the similar (optimization) material covered in a couple of Operations Research classes I took with the business department, as well as the neural nets (approximation) and heuristic search (optimization) material in my AI classes.
Click to expand...


I really enjoyed the Operations Research class I took. I found the types of problems involved in that class very interesting -- many had a "puzzle"-like quality that I liked.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: mrkun
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

My favorite math classes were in numerical analysis though. After them I was almost tempted to switch from comp sci to applied math.
Click to expand...

What in particular did you like about numerical analysis?
Click to expand...
The material and homework was just fun to me, and I could see how it would be interesting to work on approximation and optimization functions.

I also enjoyed some of the similar (optimization) material covered in a couple of Operations Research classes I took with the business department, as well as the neural nets (approximation) and heuristic search (optimization) material in my AI classes.
Click to expand...

I was a math major in college, but my favorite courses were in AI, machine learning, OR, and a course about statistical learning techniques applied to natural languages. Real analysis I did not enjoy, but I think if I studied it again I'd have a renewed appreciation for it...
 
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