Show of Hands

I need a show of hands.  Sometimes it feels a bit lonely out there even in the realm of the "does not seem important, but maybe it is" category.  At the moment I am talking about mathematics.  Please keep in mind that I am not good at math -- even have to look up how to spell words like Trigonometry, Advanced Algebra and Calculus, for heaven's sake.  I don't even deal with the number nine -- ever, and since I was born in a year with two nines, I am never quite sure how old I am. A long time ago, I was 44 for two years in a row.  Seriously.  Having said all of that so that you know where I stand...

Just this past week, I heard of a fine young man who is beginning his search for an institution of higher learning. He was dismayed to find that one college he visited, although appealing in other areas, has the requirement of calculus for his intended major.  Now -- anyone who has ever dealt with an institution of higher learning -- knows about their rules and prerequisites.  It is an issue -- one that people have complained about -- probably for generations. It is like hitting a wall or screaming into the wind.  Anyway -- it makes me wonder about calculus.  I mean, seriously, what is it?  I know that people say that the study of calculus develops discipline and that no learning is wasted... I know that there are claims that it is used in predicting things like weather, stock options,  and in engineering, but honestly -- I have never met a person who can tell me what good it is to the common person -- like me -- who passed Trig by plugging in formulas in a trial and error method that I personally developed as a method of survival.  

Okay I admit it -- I am a language person.  I write in letters, not in numbers. Here is what I know -- there seem to be very few who know why calculus is useful and they don't share well with others - especially now that computers do a lot of that complex, formulaic sort of thing. I looked up the word calculus-- because that is who I am. The actual word is from the Latin word of the same spelling and literally means "small pebble used for counting".  Really?  It's not so terrifying when you know that. As the definition continues, it explains that calculus is a mathematical study of change -- a way to predict.  Is this why our meteorologists are so accurate in forecasting our weather?  Here all this time I thought they used slide rules or something. (Do slide rules even exist anymore?) 

I am not "gifted" with a math mind.  I struggled through and passed the mandatory college level math class for my major. At the end of the ordeal the professor of said class told me never to do anything in my life that had anything whatsoever to do with numbers...that I had no aptitude nor ability in mathematics.  You see -- college professors didn't have to be nice to their students back in the day. They were not overwhelmingly concerned with self-esteem, etc. He called me Nancy sub 1 -- a name I never understood -- math humor I guess.  I still remember his name.  Anyway -- I took his advice. In spite of that -- I find that I do possess some degree of ability in analytical thinking. I ace logic problems, and logic in combination with women's intuition, has brought me along nicely.  Also -- I can do my checkbook, calculate how much yarn or fabric I need for a project and can even figure out how much it will cost to carpet a room once I have measured it. (I use pencil and paper and then check my figures with the calculator on my phone.)  I follow recipes well if they are not in the metric system. I deal well with percentages, and ... as I remind my grandchildren -- I have eyes in the back of my head.

So -- show of hands please... How many of you use calculus in your everyday lives?  As for the fine young man who will probably have to take calculus -- good luck with that.  Sorry... can't help you there. Wish I could. I passed college Algebra by 1/10th of a point. I knew better than to try calculus. I didn't study chemistry either - not even in high school.  I try to communicate in words, not formulas and numbers with little signs (+ / -) and [brackets]. Words are handy...not always easy, but certainly more functional in everyday life than advanced mathematics...in my humble opinion. Yet -- I recognize it that takes all sorts of talents to make the world go around. I love The Big Bang Theory. We need to be kind to one another and those who can add and stuff need not make fun of those of us who are mathematically challenged. They also need to recognize that reading and writing are also important skills. Maybe they could study language a little harder, so that they could explain themselves a little more effectively. They could start with the value of learning calculus -- for the ordinary person like me.