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Lack of self confidence before studying mathematics

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 02:01:33 2021 No.13766631 View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>13766639 >>13766655 >>13766670 >>13766761 >>13769333 >>13770713

Can any pure math folks help me out here? I’m a senior in EE and after I graduate I will probably start studying more proof based math to gain a more rigorous understanding and for enjoyment. Problem is I have super low self esteem and I feel like I’ll think of myself as a retard once I start proof based linear algebra and real analysis. Did any of you feel like this when you started studying “higher” level, ie more rigorous, math? Where are you now and how did things work out?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 02:04:07 No.13766639 Report

Quoted By: >>13766747

>>13766631
Get gud faggot.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 02:13:34 No.13766655 Report

Quoted By: >>13766747 >>13770552

>>13766631
>confidence
You get over it eventually. The more you learn about math, the more you learn about learning about math. Of course, this really affects you when you self-study, but all I can say is:
>read everything
>I mean EVERYTHING that catches your eye
>think it's interesting? read up on it, even just to see if it'll hold your interest long term
>don't be afraid to spoon feed yourself so you can get an idea of the scope of some subject
>be honest with yourself about whether you ACTUALLY understand something
>if you can actually understand a textbook, do the exercises
>benchmark yourself by making a fool of yourself in front of an actual mathematician, even online

The cool thing about math, is the last point comes naturally. You see something totally confusing, all you have to do is ask a question about it and the feedback will tell you how puny (or not) your power level is. You can't really do this in fields where people do a lot of "eyeballing" of the results and empirical inconsistencies can be explained away as lousy methods or random noise.

But in math? There are no experiments, so everyone's pedantic as fuck, even in their informal arguments. On top of that, math is a largely (presumably) consistent body of knowledge, so if you go down a wrong path that has been extensively written about, you'll find out REAL quick why your conception of the topic was so confusing: because it was wrong.

But then you correct it and move on.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 02:19:48 No.13766670 Report

Quoted By: >>13766747 >>13766763

>>13766631
EE fag here who is selfstudying math at the moment.

If you're that low self confident on yourself but you still want to do it (or try it) get the beginners books first with their solutions manuals. It's like cheating but it works if you use them to get how shit is done. After you have some confidence repeating copying some exercises solutions, try some on your own. That's a way to progress.

Do as many exercises as you need to get some confidence, then move on next topic.
Don't rush. Part of learning is understanding wtf you're doing, and more importantly, why the steps are that way.

Write down procedures when convenient and keep them for future reference. Memory is limited and fragile. Use it wisely.

Save your solved problems for future reference also. You can use them to get ideas to solve new stuff from there.

You can use previous results in new problems. So that way you don't have to figure out all the shit from scratch again.

Most math books show you the very basics of a topic in the theory portion, and a lot of the fundamental stuff on the exercises. Don't skip them.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 02:56:29 No.13766747 Report

Quoted By: >>13766763 >>13766855

>>13766639
Ok I will do my best.

>>13766655
>>13766670
Thank you both for your responses. I appreciate the advice you guys gave and will keep it in mind. I’m still debating as to whether I should get a masters in math or not. I’ll be honest, I don’t like taking classes but I love learning things on my own. I was thinking about starting with “Book of Proof”, and then reading Shilov’s Linear Algebra. From there, I’ll go to real analysis, and I suppose I’ll think about what to do after once I get there.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 03:05:17 No.13766761 Report

Quoted By:

>>13766631
you're just procrastinating, freak.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 03:06:11 No.13766763 Report

Quoted By: >>13766897

>>13766747
>I don’t like taking classes but I love learning things on my own.
I am the >>13766670

I'm in a similar situation. But I guess I'm way older than you anon. For me math was amazing at uni. I liked studying and doing it by myself. No pressures, no mid or final terms, no stupid group projects. And I can spend all the time I want on the subject I'm interested. And I don't know about where are you, but in my shithole country I would barely make any significant thing if I get a masters in math or something like that. Academia here is elitist as fuck, I mean, like hell. And haven't produced nothing remarkable as far as I know.

That's way I study on my own. Because is something that I can make for my own enjoyment and not to compete with other assholes more well situed in life. It's something I do by myself for myself.

Still, I'd like to teach sometime in my life because I'm afraid whatever I have learnt will be lost when I die. It's not like I have found any important new thing, but I'd like to share the enjoyment I have had with what I've acquired over time.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 03:48:57 No.13766855 Report

Quoted By: >>13766897 >>13770800

>>13766747
>Masters in math
Just keep in mind there's basically no job market for that outside of academia/teaching. The rest are largely actuaries/applied mathematicians, who have specific degrees to that effect. On top of that, the courses are designed for students with a BA in math, so even if your understanding is comparable to someone with a degree, the style of teaching may not be at ALL what's best for you.

I'd recommend auditing a course or two, if you have the time, so you can understand if that learning style is right for you. If so, then good for you, maybe you can get a degree out of it, but if not, you can cut your losses without shame and administrative bullshit after a few months.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 04:05:36 No.13766897 Report

Quoted By: >>13767222

>>13766763
You sound like a humble guy. If only academia had more people like you. Good luck with your continued studies, and thank you for your advice.

>>13766855
I have thought about the marketability for a masters in math with a BSE in electrical engineering, and I’ve come to the conclusion a masters in math probably would not help me much. At least in terms of job prospects, the BSE in EE is far more important. I may skip any further formal education and simply study math in my free time after I get a good engineering job.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 05:42:39 No.13767222 Report

Quoted By:

>>13766897
I know man, I'm the humblest guy you will ever know, period. Lol, jk. You're welcome mate. I hope I can give some use to all the stuff I have done on my own.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 19 Oct 2021 20:08:42 No.13769333 Report

Quoted By:

>>13766631
Bump

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 20 Oct 2021 03:36:42 No.13770552 Report

Quoted By: >>13770633

>>13766655
>>benchmark yourself by making a fool of yourself in front of an actual mathematician, even online
How you do that

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 20 Oct 2021 04:06:22 No.13770633 Report

Quoted By:

>>13770552
Using the math stackexchange

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 20 Oct 2021 04:35:12 No.13770713 Report

Quoted By:

>>13766631
Just accept that you are a retard and be humble. You're still better at math than most of the world population. Ask for help, and don't feel bad about not understanding; you're here to learn. I have like a 115 iQ and I've finallyh reached the leveln in math im

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 20 Oct 2021 05:10:50 No.13770800 Report

Quoted By:

>>13766855
Not that guy, but out of curiosity, what is the job market for a Masters in Applied or Computational Mathematics?

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