Numbers and Nightmares

I've turned in the math assignment for this week and have taken the assessment.  One more week and assessment to go.  This is how I truly understand math:

If Bob is waiting for his bus at the corner of Lupis and Vine on a Tuesday and he is eating Strawberry ice cream, but not quickly, and his melted ice cream is dripping onto the sidewalk before the bus comes;  meanwhile, three cars have passed and none have bothered to offer Bob a ride, how far is the sun?

 If Lisa has agreed to babysit for Mrs. Brown, and walk the dog for Mrs. Green and water plants for Mrs. Plumb, what color is Lisa's shirt?

 If Hector collects rocks and balloons and gives one balloon to Kathy for nine seashells, what day of the week is it?

I do like my instructor.  I wish I had just one ounce of her passion.  But I don't.  It's math.  I've found some videos that have been helpful.  Others are . . . what??????  I came across one video in which the Berstein Bear was showing me how NOT to do the math - okay it wasn't the actual  Berstein Bear - itt just felt that way as he demonstrated at least six ways not to do it before he demonstrating the correct way.  IF he shows me the correct way.  He pretty much lost me at polyominols and what this letter could be and what this figure could represent . . . huh?

I did come across one over twelve minutes long and for the most part was easy to follow.  But what are you supposed to think when the instructor of the video starts yawning?  I'm with you Pal.  I was there before the video even started.  I know I'm not the only person who hates or doesn't get math.  My class is full of lost individuals.

Sometime between 3 and 5 this morning there were numbers and factors taunting me.  They were laughing at me while I slept.  Some were dancing to the soundtrack of La La Land.  That was weird.  I don't appreciate these numbers haunting me, bullying me.  Gosh, just let me sleep! It's bad enough I have to deal with algebra when I'm awake (actually I did take a nap before completing my assignment as the equations really did put me to sleep. 

 I HATE Algebra.  I still have two more weeks of "What the heck?"  I finally posted my discussion - which I normally try to do on Monday or Tuesday, but not with this class. My brain has a major cramp.  We're supposed to solve  - or rather break down the simplified so that it reads with complication and I can't do that if I don't understand it.  That's only part one.  In part two the class is supposed to explain why we need Quantitative literacy . . .  wha-wha-what?  Quantitative whatnow? 

I did a copy and paste for a reference I might consider using later on.  It came out like this:

Quantitativeliteracyistheabilitytoidentify,understand,andusequantitativeargumentsineverydaycontexts.Anessentialcomponentistheabilitytoadaptaquantitativeargumentfromafamiliar

that reads pretty much to my understanding.  Now onto my other class - which surprisingly I am doing quite well in.

We've Been Down This Road Before

If x  times 3 = 3x and you subtract 12 = y over 3x squared, what are y and x?  We will never know.  Apparently it doesn't matter. Order of operation matters. Order of operations is a way of thinking logically - so says the mathematician.  Do you know how boring you sound?  Only math nerds understand the numbers game and the results of getting there - though most of the problems are never completely finished - they are written down as far as they can go.  So an acceptable answer could look like this: 4x+3q+8-7n=y^12  What????? 

If we don't ever know what q or y or the rest of the letters are - what's the point???  Roland says it's to learn logic.  I don't learn logic!  I am too dang frustrated to be logical.  I want to scream, swear, pull out my hair, and hurt whoever it is that came up with x(3-6)+[6*(n-q)4]-12x in the first place. Give me a break!  I was not put on this planet to answer mixed up number/letter riddles.  This is NOT my lot in life.  On top of that I'm I have to have dictionary just to translate words such as "Polynomial" and "Monomial" Is this a math class or an English class?  Make up your mind.  Or maybe "algebra" means "a combination of letters and numbers that will either a) have a person so confused that they may end up hating all forms or math or b) you will be able to relate to this subject better than people and math will therefore become your best friend"

I don't know how many students are in my math class.  I'm guessing thirty.  It appears that there are a couple of math nerds, but overall, the majority of us despise math, don't speak math, get lost in math, are confused by math, are taking the course because it's required and pray that we may pass the course just to get it over with, hate math, just don't get it, don't really care.  Guess which group I fall into?

Recently my instructor posted the following:  One of the big topics for this week was simplifying a problem using the correct order of operations.  Why is this so important?  Take the following problem for example: 

2(8=7) - 3 x 4 + 2

Let's say two students are working together to simplify this problem.  Student A chooses to work the problem in the following manner:

2(8 + 7) – 3 x 4 + 2 

2(15) – 3 x 4 + 2  Parenthesis first

30 – 12 + 2  Multiplying in order from left to right second

20  Adding and subtracting in order from left to right last

Student A got a final answer of 20

Now let's say Student B chooses to work the problem in the following manner:

 2(8 + 7) – 3 x 4 + 2 

2(15) – 3 x 4 + 2  Parenthesis first

30 – 3 x 4 + 2  Multiply starting at the left

27 x 4 + 2  Continue from left to right with subtraction next

108 + 2  Continue from left to right with multiplication next

110  Addition last

Student B got a final answer of 110.

Which student is correct? 

This would be my answer:

          Student A would be the correct answer because he/she is using the correct order of operations (PEMDAS) but I understand how Student B would come up with his/her answer - IT FEELS LOGICAL to do it that way.

          Simplified?  In math?  Unless we are doing basic addition or subtraction, for me personally, the word "simple" can be associated with anything math related.  It's an oxymoron.

I think algebra is an oxymoron.