<p>I chose to be a bio major because I enjoyed science but could never understand advanced math concepts or the mathematical elements of physics/chemistry. Now, it’s too late to change my hated major, and don’t even ask about the future. Please don’t tell me how crappy a bio major is - I am well aware of that.</p>
<p>Anyway, could I ever become good at math? I have had a learning need (ADHD) that went untreated until now, if that matters - do you think that was the problem?</p>
<p>Well, some people are autodidact, and learn better by themselves. So it is possible if you have the will and can deal with only reading stuff by yourself, and force yourself to do the work. However, particularly in mathematics, you need to be able to evaluate whether your reasoning is correct or not. That is the tougher part. When an autodidact goes on the wrong path (in learning something new), I find it’s harder to get them back into a correct approach. So, while it’s technically possible to learn math without formally taking courses, it’s better to have some sort of teacher/prof/tutor/mentor to independently assess how you are doing over time. I think this may be especially true for someone with ADHD. Mathematics, like piano and physical exercises, need regular practice, and having some sort of personal trainer is definitely helpful in that regard.</p>
<p>The people who invented this stuff did not have what we have today.</p>
<p>^ Very few people are intellectually comparable to Isaac Newton, though.</p>
<p>Compared with other fields, autodidacts are actually quite common in mathematics. While it is true that people like Newton and Leibniz are very rare, it is important to realize that they too “messed up in life” with the original “major” that they planned. Newton was going to be a farmer but failed at it, Leibniz a theologian. They both realized mathematics was their passion and quickly changed fields.</p>
<p>The key question to ask if whether mathematics really is your passion. You may have taken a few calculus courses or perhaps a course in linear algebra/differential equations, but realize that real mathematics is not the equivalent of solving calculus problems. Computers can solve integrals and differential equations much better than any human can. In fact, real mathematics is more about proving the theorems of calculus that you have learned, which is in a whole new league compared to solving calculus problems. The branch of math I specifically refer to is real analysis. One thing about math is that you have to be a skeptic and question everything in it to the point of it being a naked truth to you.</p>
<p>If you like calculus, but do not like proving abstract theorems, then engineering may be for you, and you should try to find an engineering field that aligns with your experience in biology such as biomedical engineering.</p>
<p>NP</p>
<p>All is not lost, the above users are trying to make you believe “pure” math is the only way to go. My suggestion is that you should consider applied math or statistics, specifically bio-statistics considering your background. If you take the necessary course-work you could be competitive for admission into either an applied math or bio stat graduate program. Preparation is different depending on which path you decide to go, here is what you would most likely need…</p>
<p>Stat/Bio-stat</p>
<p>CALC I,II,III
Calc based Probability
Calc based Statistics
Linear Algebra</p>
<p>Applied Math</p>
<p>CALC I,II,III
Diff EQ, (both ODE and PDE)
Linear Algebra
Calc Based Probability</p>
<p>You can still do it!</p>
<p>The work that applied mathematicians do is still heavily proof based and computational based, even though it is geared more towards application than is the case with pure mathematicians.</p>
<p>Basically,
Mathematics = Doing proofs to convince yourself (and others) it is correct</p>
<p>NP</p>
<p>Again, not true. Depends what level you get yourself into. If you do a Masters in applied math or statistics, you can avoid a lot of proofs. Now if you said a PhD, which i don’t think the OP is going for then yeah, it’s all proofs.</p>
<p>My BS in Statistics was full of proofs.</p>
<p>@110percentwahoo: I don’t know what school you are from but proof-writing is essential in mathematics, even at the undergraduate level. It is what separates math from other sciences and engineering. If you graduate with only Calculus I,II,III and ODE/PDE/Linear Algebra, you will have an engineering degree minus the engineering classes or a physics degree minus the physics classes, which is a waste of your time.</p>
<p>IF you don’t like proofs but you do like to apply math WITHOUT the proofs, you are much better off in engineering. </p>
<p>Proof writing is also essential in computer science, especially the more theoretical aspects of it.</p>
<p>NP</p>
<p>I know some universities offer an Introduction to Higher Mathematics course or something similar. Usually the course deals with the foundations of logic and basic set theory. If your university offers such a course, you should take it and see if you like it. </p>
<p>You can also check out this e-book (PDF) on the topic.
<a href=“http://people.whitman.edu/~gordon/higher_math.pdf[/url]”>http://people.whitman.edu/~gordon/higher_math.pdf</a></p>
<p>Yes, you can! With ADHD, you probably learn better on your own, without lectures.</p>
<p>Youtube can teach you a lot of stuff that wasnt around during Newtons time lol.</p>
<p>I have some experience in teaching myself Math. Although I went to medical school in Philadelphia and became an MD for career purposes my undergraduate major was Astronomy at the University of Maryland College Park. I took Calculus I, II and III, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. I also have ADHD, which was undiagnosed at that time and was unable to progress in Math any further then since I just could not understand it. I am now being treated with ritilin and can now understand and learn things that once made no sense to me like Fourier Analysis.</p>
<p>I am seriously contemplating a career change from physician to medical physicist and have been working on my own to strengthen my Math skills to the point where I can take graduate level Physics courses. I have found that it is possible to teach yourself Math with good textbooks but you have to be motivated and have a lot of self discipline because to make progress you have to work on it every day and do a lot of problems. There will be problems that are very hard to solve and you have no one to help you. You absolutely can not give up on a problem and must work as long and hard at as you have to solve it. Sometimes it takes days to do a single problem. This is probably not the most efficient way to learn Math or Physics but there is a great deal of self-satisfaction when you finally solve a difficult problem purely through your own efforts.</p>
<p>Since my major goal is to become stronger in Physics than Math per se, I have not delved very deeply into proofs in my Math studies.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you, as an ex-bio major, who’s now a math and chemistry major, how difficult it is to learn math alone. Anyways, here are my favorite notes (I don’t know how math is studied in America, because I’m Israeli, but anyways):</p>
<p>Calculus 1
<a href=“http://www.math.tau.ac.il/~klartagb/calculus1/sodin.pdf[/url]”>http://www.math.tau.ac.il/~klartagb/calculus1/sodin.pdf</a>
<a href=“Page Not Found”>Page Not Found;
<p>Linear Algebra
[Linear</a> Algebra Lecture Notes](<a href=“http://www.ams.sunysb.edu/~andant/ams210-lec.html]Linear”>http://www.ams.sunysb.edu/~andant/ams210-lec.html)</p>
<p>Probability
<a href=“http://homepage.smc.edu/kennedy_john/PROB.PDF[/url]”>http://homepage.smc.edu/kennedy_john/PROB.PDF</a></p>
<p>Everything
[Faculty</a> of Mathematics Notes on the Web](<a href=“http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/studentreps/res/notes.html]Faculty”>http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/studentreps/res/notes.html)</p>
<p>@NPComplete, I go to UVA and am an undergraduate mathematics major with a prob stat concentration. I have taken a couple of proof heavy classes and I’m being honest when I saying that proofs are not essential as you make them out to be. No one outside of academia is going to demand you to write a proof, they are going to demand however you understand the theory and application of certain subject matter however. Proof writing helps build a theoretical understanding of the material, proof writing is not a skill that is in itself super important in the real world. </p>
<p>@OminousRun: If you consider kid-proofs (such as “Verification” and by definition proofs) from elementary topics like linear algebra, theoretical statistics/applied statistics and basic calculus as “full of proofs” then I’m sure your BS in stat was “full of proofs”. These “proofs” are nothing compared to pure mathematics however, most mathematicians don’t even consider what you did as real proofs…</p>
<p>I’ve found the Khan Academy website useful for a number of serious math topics</p>
<p>Which math topics lake clouds?</p>
<p>Calc - integral, differential, multivariate
Diff. Equations (first order, second order)
Partial Diff Eqs
Linear Algebra</p>
<p>Thats good thought it was just algebra.</p>