this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2025
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I wanted to be an electrical engineer, then I saw all the math and settled for electrician, then I saw all the math and settled for Janitor
I wanted to be a naval pilot engineer at four. I’m colorblind, terrified of heights, not fond of authority, sloppy, and scatterbrained as hell. It’s quite possibly the worst possible job for me. To be fair, part of the reason was that I hated the word “bellybutton” and thought anyone who said ”navel” instead had the right idea, so it’s not like I really understood that part of it.
Unfortunate, i know lots of engineers who never learned math.
Not an engineer but I took calculus 1, 2, 3, discrete math, linear algebra, statics, dynamics, and probably others I'm forgetting.
Since school, I needed one trig function for calculating distance between lat/long coordinates that I looked up on Wikipedia and plugged in to a program.
... Statics was fucking cool though.
Statics is good fun. That was one of those courses i spent 40-50hrs a week on.
That knowledge is great for other applications too. For example, it helps with visualizing of how tension laid in fallen trees on saw crews for trail maintenance.
I still use statics at work but i could in theory get by with just basic FEA guess and check.
How are Electricians needing to do so much math? Its basic calculator and lookup table stuff? I mean a janitor does more complication calculations when they dilute cleaning products and estimate how much they will need for a given room.
Man, I really can't get why ppl hate math.
If it doesn't make sense, it sucks
Math is mostly taught as theory. It should be taught in practice.
Teaching people how to calculate an inventory, or taxes in a spreadsheet, is much more useful than teaching them differentials and number theory.
Its like teaching people carpentry but never having them make anything with it. You just quiz them on which tool and material they need to use.
I get where you're coming from but i have to disagree. What your describing is not math but econ, a different subject. Math is about how to calculate stuff with least effort.
I agree with you, its no longer math at thst point, but the application in the service of other fields.
What I am advocating for is that math at most of secondary school level should be taught on the practical basis. Math theory should be treated as a field of specialization. Much like how language is taught after people get over the basic literacy portion.
That's reasonable, but some theory is also good to know. In language class we discuss not just the content of an article but also how it is written. Language itself is a tool here, similar to math.
Another important aspect of school is to ensure that everyone is exposed to many topics. That's why we have art classes even though most people don't become artists. It let's everyone know that this topic exists and what it is about.
The practical implementation of teaching math is bad though, as you said. Sometimes it is just rote memorization, which is the complete opposite of what it should be. I hate that.