getting over math phobia

[smilingcat]

When math becomes counter-intuitive, I get to hate it.

Statistics always drove me bananers... Classic problem is "Lets make a deal" problem. Three doors to pick your winning. Hopefully, the one you pick is the winner and not the dud. You pick one of three doors and Monty shows you one of the losers. And he asks "do you want to switch or stay with the door you chose?" The question is should you switch or stay with your original choice? does it make a difference?

Ans: If you stay with your original decision, your chance of winning is only 1/3. If you switch, your chance of winning goes up to 1/2 or is it 2/3.

go figure...

I went over this with people who have graduate degrees in semiconductor physics from Cal Tech, Stanford and other elite schools. It took a while before they realized yes its better to switch.

[Veronica]

I'm part of a math grant in my district with a focus on really helping the students understand what's going on in math, not just memorizing algorithms. Why is one tenth times one tenth equal to one hundredth? Why is one half equal to two fourths? That sort of thing. We're in our second year, so it's hard to see if it's making a difference yet. I know it's made math a bit more fun.

Veronica