Check out Barbara Oakley's
new book A Mind For Numbers.
I was actually pretty decent at math as my father was a mathematician
and I grew up learning to love numbers. However, I had no natural talent, just
no fear, which is important in learning math. Oakley makes this point
throughout the book as she believes most people can learn math (and science)
with the right tools and mindset. She is an engineering professor who failed
her way through high school math but tackled these skills as an adult. Here is
more about the book:
In A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Oakley lets us in on the secrets to
effectively learning math and science—secrets that even dedicated and
successful students wish they’d known earlier. Contrary to popular belief, math
requires creative, as well as analytical, thinking. Most people think that
there’s only one way to do a problem, when in actuality, there are often a
number of different solutions—you just need the creativity to see them. For
example, there are more than three hundred different known proofs of the
Pythagorean Theorem. In short, studying a problem in a laser-focused way until
you reach a solution is not an effective way to learn math. Rather, it involves
taking the time to step away from a problem and allow the more relaxed and
creative part of the brain to take over. A Mind for Numbers shows us that we
all have what it takes to excel in math, and learning it is not as painful as
some might think!
Relaxing while trying to learn math sounds counterintuitive but it
works, according to the book. One of my favorite chapters is called “tools,
tips, and tricks” and it gives the reader positive mental tricks to use to
their advantage in learning. She tackles procrastination and gets tips from
experts regarding their student, such as “No going onto the computer during
their procrastination time. It’s too engrossing,” “Before procrastinating,
identify the easiest homework problem,” and “Copy the equation or equations
that are needed to solve the problem onto a small piece of paper and carry the
paper around until they are ready to quit procrastinating and get back to
work.”
All this seems to lead to being a bit more
creative and perhaps a bit more relaxed. Come to think of it, the above tips
would be helpful in writing a blog post except the writer has to use the
computer and cannot avoid it. Anyway, the book is great and goes into more
detail about how to increase your memory with metaphors and visualization. Pick
it up if you want to know more about how to succeed at math and science or if
you just need to improve your memory and learning ability.
Helen Smith is a
psychologist in Knoxville, Tennessee and blogs at Dr. Helen
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