Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ColinWright 3850 days ago
"Math" is huge, and I mean HUGE - there's vast amounts of it, and most of it you won't care about, and is irrelevant to you.

For most people, yes, you can learn math. In particular, you can learn the bits of math that are relevant, interesting, and useful. But for some parts of it, it won't be easy.

Some parts you'll find obvious once it's explained to you in a way that suits how you think. Other parts will seem mysterious and completely opaque.

Get used to it - that's how it is. But don't give up!

So, what kind of math do you already know? If I say that 3+5x=13, would you be able to work out what x is?

If I asked for the slope of the graph of x^3-3x+5 at x=2, would you know how to do that?

These are things that are in everyone's grasp, and if you don't know them yet, it's just because you haven't done it yet. If you're in Front End development you can certainly learn to do these sorts of things (although they may not be exactly relevant to you just now).

So, what sort of stuff do you already know, and have you yet checked out the Khan Academy link?

1 comments

I said man i dont know anything in math.
I'm pretty sure that's an exaggeration. Can you count to ten? Do you know what 8 plus 5 is? Do you know what 3 times 5 is?

Seriously, start here:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math

If you get stuck there are on-line resources and people who will help. If you don't make time for it or put in the effort, nothing and no one can help.

Everyone starts from the beginning, some later than others. Take your chance now, it's never to late to start, but starting sooner gives you the best chances.

I know adiddition multiplication division in basic not with higher numbers like 899×99 or 88/177.
You did manage to calculate your age though. You either knew your birth date and substracted it from the current date, or you remembered your age and added 1 every time your birthday came up. Either of these methods requires knowing some math.