tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5322503143411766316.post698612627688205584..comments2023-10-16T13:08:13.485-07:00Comments on Math Me Thinks: The Algebra ProjectMathChiquehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17556102998486596252noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5322503143411766316.post-45478259119399622172008-12-28T14:13:00.000-08:002008-12-28T14:13:00.000-08:00Just a thought but aren't clinical trials, patholo...Just a thought but aren't clinical trials, pathological studies, pharmaceutical dosages, accounting, investing, and shopping all things a doctor runs into at some point? Don't all these things involve understanding mathematical concepts?<BR/><BR/>A 'C' in college calculus is not too shabby. I'm an engineer and got lots of them in calculus. I didn't really get calculus until I had to apply it in my career. Not sayin' you'll ever love it but I think any doctor needs a passing knowledge in math beyond high school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5322503143411766316.post-12522520637938189172008-11-30T22:09:00.000-08:002008-11-30T22:09:00.000-08:00Thank you for your comment on my blog. Even if we ...Thank you for your comment on my blog. Even if we still disagree. If you can possibly tell me any way calculus fits into my day to day medical school experience, I will be more than happy to listen.<BR/><BR/> I hear your complaint within this blog that some people within US culture are comfortable with mathematical ignorance. Even coming from a family with an engineer father, I still have no taste for the topic. And mostly, I'm okay with that. As much as I can't believe I'd ever say such a thing, I'm comfortable within my ignorance. <BR/><BR/>For all the declarative and functional knowledge I had to ram up into my head during undergraduate education - I never missed math. Argue that is because I was never taught to love it. Argue that it has some implication in my ability to use scientific information. For my particular arm of scientific practice, I completely disagree about the relevance of Calculus. No calculus is going to help me diagnose appendicitis faster.<BR/><BR/> As you wrote on my blog, there is logarithmic relevance in microbial growth. And such equations can contribute to determining antibiotic dosing or antibiotic development. Fine for academic medicine and research. Not a calculation I make on the clinical level. <BR/><BR/>I agree with this particular Gregory Budzban quote from your post: <I>"Imagine if, for twelve years, all you were taught was grammar and vocabulary in your native language. Imagine that you never had the opportunity to read anything other than the 'grammar book' and all you did was diagram sentences and write definitions. This is the equivalent of what we do in mathematics education at the K-12 level, in my opinion."</I><BR/><BR/>And maybe if math were made more relevant and artful more children would sign on to it easier and longer. But I still think at more advanced levels math is a matter of personal inclination. I love puzzles, figuring something "hard" out and many tasks that involve spatial reasoning when relevant to "getting something done". I even like certain parts of programming. <BR/><BR/>But math in college felt pointless. And beyond feeling pointless, it didn't involve people. And beyond all that, the professors had obvious, serious, psychological issues. I know as a matter of my own personal inclinations, I have no taste for tasks that do not involve animal (human or otherwise) interaction. Some people do. And that's fine for them. That's not the way I'm wired. And it never handicapped me in any way beyond being something teachers whined to me about over the years. And later on, something medical school admissions boards inquired about with puzzled expressions. "You have an A in Physics but a C in Calculus, how did that happen?" And the answers 1) physics had context, college calc didn't, it failed to hold my interest. 2) I've never met a math professor who didn't have serious psychological issues and more-arbitrary-than-usual grading systems. Maybe if I had been applying to a research oriented medical school program I could see your point about calculus being relevant. But as it stands there is no compassion test for physicians and compassion is absolutely necessary. So, it seems ridiculous to me that a math which will never be used again by your PCP is used a divining rod to determine a candidates strength. It stands as a requirement for determining who is tolerant enough to put up with something boring and unnecessary. And the answer in my case, as indicated by my grade in calculus, is I am only marginally interested in putting up with an institution wasting my time. And I know math is your area, so you are probably going to take my saying that as offensive. It’s not intended that way. I just don’t think math is an appropriate requirement on the college level. I’m competent enough to add my bills, determine tip off of a bill and mentally calculate dosage based on weight. Anything else should be left to people with the desire to learn it. I’m sick of “math guilt”. The “Oh you should want to learn this because it’s what the smartest people learn”. Or the “language of science is math”. Chemistry, fine. Engineering, fine. Patterns within biology, fine. Statistical determinants of error in the emergency room on a dark and rainy night, fine. But do complex math calculations have to enter into anything that I personally have to do – not so much. I have enough work. I am more than happy to leave the math to someone else. And I refuse to see that as a weakness. I know what I like and what I don’t like. I’m an adult, despite being stubborn like a child on this issue. Even teachers and medical students (as much as you don’t like it) are allowed to want nothing to do with complex math. I’m sorry. I’m sure there are subjects within the world you have no desire to learn.MThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01738283389493549494noreply@blogger.com