RichardJensen Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) I got into the adjunct's section through sheer tenacity; he had standing room only crowds trying to get into his class--literally, the people waiting for slots to open stood along the walls in the classroom and out in the hall. In a classroom that seated 30 students, he'd regularly have 50 or more students for the first few sessions... I had been toying with the idea of getting a math minor, but the gateway course, Math 224, "Logic and Set Theory" was always full. I went to the section that fit in my schedule the last possible semester that I could meet the requirements, after being told it was full, and there were like 10-15 students at the back of the classroom who needed to get in more than I did. The prof was quite apologetic about the whole scenario, and the end result was that I missed out on the minor and the various math classes that looked to be much more fun and interesting that Calc II as it was taught to me--- ---which consisted primarily of the prof devising the most fiendish variations of integrals that could be solved symbolically, and piling them onto quiz and exam papers. To the best of my recollection, not once did he explain how anything *worked*, which leads me to conclude that he either never knew how integration worked, he had forgotten, or he equated memorization with learning. Edited October 17, 2014 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 My lowest exam grade EVER came on my first exam in college, Calc I. 46%. My dad, an EE, said in one math class he took (non-linear equations, or something like that) he got a 38 on the final. He ended up with an A because of the curve--he had the second highest score, and ever the highest score was a failing grade. He said he got an A in the class and basically learned nothing in it. I had a physics class like that--I really think I knew more about the subject before I took the class. Somehow, the professor managed to suck information out of my brain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 My dad, an EE, That's what my major is. I still have fun confusing people with the question "what's the square root of -1". I sincerely enjoyed most of my engineering classes (outside of Statics, which had a horrible instructor), even though I hated school in general. Solving problems has always been fun for me. I really think I knew more about the subject before I took the class. Somehow, the professor managed to suck information out of my brain... That sounds like my only programming class in college: C++. The instructor was Asian and I could barely understand a word he said. How i went on to become a programmer after that is beyond me! Now it's C# and not C++ though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 How i went on to become a programmer after that is beyond me! Programmer? I though you used windoze? :happy feet: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Programmer? I though you used windoze? :happy feet: I should have expected that... But, in reality, most of my apps are cross platform that the user can use any OS they want, as long as it has a web browser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I should have expected that... But, in reality, most of my apps are cross platform that the user can use any OS they want, as long as it has a web browser. That was such a cheap shot I'm almost ashamed of myself. Almost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 ok, intervention time, my street cred is sustaining damage.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 That was such a cheap shot I'm almost ashamed of myself. Almost. Why do Java programmers where glasses? Because they don't C#! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Now this is a thread only an engineer can love... My Math story... I took pre-calc in High School as an honors course and got an A in it. The summer after, I took advanced math and trig at the local college for honor high school credit and got an A in it. I got to Texas A&M and took freshman Calc I, along with 200 other students, and made a c- in it. I dutifully signed up for Calc II the next semester according to my course guidelines, and, with a tutor meeting with me twice a week, managed to score a 43 on the final exam and failed the class. That cost me my scholarship. I changed universities and majors (went from Mechanical Engineering to Computer Engineering) and took a class called consolidated calculus, which is calc II designed for students that took AP calc I in high school. It did a recap on a lot of calc I for the first month, and then compressed Calc II into the rest of the class. With a tutor, I got a c+. Next semester, Calc III, B-. Then Diff Eq, B+. Next semester, digital logic and finite math, both A's. Finally, I've completed m math requirements for my CE degree and I'm a class away from a math minor, Linear Algebra is all that remains. I walk into a whirling dervish of Matrices of differential Equations, working a 3 X 3 matrix takes pages of calculations. MatLab can do it in seconds but I can't make heads or tails of the mess. I bomb the class hard, failing every test after the first, which I got an 88 on (thus tricking me to staying after the 100% add/drop date). While I didn't actually go into Computer Engineering as my field (I'm in IT administration), I still use integrals and differentials on a regular basis when estimating areas, volumes, and other odd properties of items. And, FFTs are your friends when you're helping the Radio Guys with their stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Seems we have an abundance of folks in the IT field here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Seems we have an abundance of folks in the IT field here. I am, but please don't tell my mom. She still thinks I play piano down at the cathouse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Seems we have an abundance of folks in the IT field here. ...who suck at calculus...... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Probably a connection there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Probably a connection there. Not ALL of us IT folks suck at calc. Not that I'm bragging or anything. I USED to be good at calc, but since I haven't done it in 15+ years... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 ...who suck at calculus...... I suck at algebra too...I think its genetic, since my sister had to take Algebra 4 times before she graduated College! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I suck at algebra too...I think its genetic, since my sister had to take Algebra 4 times before she graduated College! Algebra is easy for me. It's completely logical. I've even used the Pythagorean theorem numerous times to check corner squareness in construction and woodworking and to calculate the height and width of a hdtv given the diagonal screen size. I get basic geometry but I'm lost when it comes to sin, cosine, tangent, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I suck at algebra too...I think its genetic, since my sister had to take Algebra 4 times before she graduated College! I don't know that I sucked at it, but I hated algebra. I loved geometry, though, with its hands-on approaches, like finding the midpoint of a line without using a ruler, as well as the logic and proofs. I probably use algebra more than any other advanced math field on a regular basis (programming is largely algebra when you get down to it), but geometry is the only math class that I can say I really enjoyed. (I tried to enjoy trig, but the teacher was such a prick that I just couldn't.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Algebra is easy for me. It's completely logical. I've even used the Pythagorean theorem numerous times to check corner squareness in construction and woodworking and to calculate the height and width of a hdtv given the diagonal screen size. Framing carpenters call it the 3-4-5 rule. As for the size of TV screens, I just use the specs on the manufacturer's Web site... I get basic geometry but I'm lost when it comes to sin, cosine, tangent, etc. Weird--I just use SOH CAH TOA the other day to help someone figure out that his corner table design would end up being too big for the room in which he was planning on building it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 And of course by Geometry I meant Trigonometry....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 As for the size of TV screens, I just use the specs on the manufacturer's Web site... That's too easy and no fun....... I think I was trying to take a max width and figure out the largest diagonal screen size that would fit. Or maybe I was just playing around with excel formulas...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Or maybe I was just playing around with excel formulas...... Nerd alert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 And tonight I'm going to desolder, remove, replace and resolder a $3 relay on the circuit board for my basement fridge. Hopefully that gets the compressor running again and I don't have to buy a $200 circuit board. It was also a good excuse to buy a new pro multimeter....... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Algebra is easy for me. It's completely logical. I've even used the Pythagorean theorem numerous times to check corner squareness in construction and woodworking and to calculate the height and width of a hdtv given the diagonal screen size. I get basic geometry but I'm lost when it comes to sin, cosine, tangent, etc. And of course by Geometry I meant Trigonometry....... Sine, cosine and tangent in trig and calculus >>>> sine, cosine, and tangent in geometry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
351cid Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 So...how much HP does the 5.0L make at the flywheel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 So...how much HP does the 5.0L make at the flywheel? If you believe the 392 dyno pull with a very conservative 15% loss, it's 460 minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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