@Hursimear
I always come home from work very depressed, tired, and demotivated. Taking a break/nap does NOT help. I struggle to do my studies sometimes and other times I do study but feel like poo. This is an everyday thing. In the morning I feel good studying (which is why I get up at 4 or 5 am). But work really drains my emotional energy. Not sure what to do about it
@angrycat2789
1) 0:40 Set a timer 2) 2:22 Make it a daily habit 3) 3:05 Have a set number of problems 4) 5:10 Have a comfortable environment to study 5) 6:07 Take breaks 6) 8:23 Closing words & recap (TLDR)
@tonyg5433
1) Set a timer. Just having a timer running will put you in "focus mode" 2) Make it a daily habit. 3) Have a set number of problems to solve in one day. Do not set the bar too high. 4) Have a peaceful/comfortable environment to study 5) Take breaks! If you cannot solve a problem, come back to it. Do not "overtrain" your brain.
@Aimen-i9j
Years ago, when I went to high school I chose the literature and philosophy field, which meant I didn’t study advanced math just the basics. At that time, I thought I was bad at math, but in fact, I never gave math a fair chance, and I only cared about choosing the easiest path to pass and get the high school baccalaureate (degree). It didn’t take long for me to dislike this field, especially when I saw what my friends were studying in the science field. But my regrets came too late because, in my country education in high school is not flexible, and once you choose a field, you can’t change it. So I just had to study and do what was necessary to pass, with no real interest or passion for the subjects. After three years, I got my high school degree and went to university. Five years later i graduated with a master’s in psychology. I enjoyed studying psychology, but I don’t really see myself working in that field. During my university years, my passion for science grew, and now I want to study biotechnology abroad. The thing is, now I need a new high school degree but in experimental sciences because it's not possible to get accepted with my old degree in literature 😅. I started preparing two months ago, and I’m actually having a hard time with math and physics, but your channel has really helped me and motivated me not to give up. Thank you so much, and sorry for the long comment 😆❤️
@raichu56k
yo what's up math sorcerer! i'm not sure if you remember me but i've been a frequent commenter on your vids throughout the past couple years. i just graduated this semester with a bachelor's of science in applied math so it's awesome to finally be done. thanks for all your help and wisdom during my undergrad! this channel shall be cherished forever
@zedsdead5870
I was out of work one winter when I was twenty and studied C. Algebra, trigonometry, analytic geometry and lastly - calculus. I studied from 9PM to 3AM every night for 3 months no problem. It served me well when I studied economics at the university.
@WitchidWitchid
Taking a break and coming back later is sometimes the most important thing one can do. Once, when I was studying Probability Theory, there was a statement in my text that was given without proof. It just kept bugging me as to why the statement should be valid. So, I decided to set out to prove it. I began working out a proof and I was on the right track but something eluded me and I wasn't able to complete the proof. So I kept at it for hours and hours, thinking and rethinking, trying variations on my approach. It was late, I was tired, I couldn't stay away, and I had to sleep. So I very reluctantly got up and went to sleep and fell asleep thinking about the proof. When I got up the next morning and I started working on my proof again it kicked right in and I was able to complete the proof quickly. Everything made sense. This has happened on numerous occasions where taking a break actually worked on my behalf. I am sure anyone who has ever done any serious math has experienced this phenomenon. Nonstop thinking and rethinking is not always the best approach. Allowing for a break and coming back to the problem later can often make a world of difference and can make the difference between success and failure.
@benhill3098
I'm relieved to know doing 5-10 problems a day is enough! I like the suggestion not to use a timer from a phone or computer. Calls, text, and the internet are distracting. Being very fast is not as important as not slowing down, and I think following this advice will help us avoid slowing down. Thanks Math Sorcerer!
@jonathansturm4163
I spent a decade teaching adults and since this was in the field of computers, I needed to engage in a lot of continuing professional development. The key to learning any language is repetition and so a daily routine is best. Most people’s attention span is no longer than 30 minutes. If you want to spend an hour a day, then two periods of 30 minutes a few hours apart will be much more effective than a single period of 60 minutes. Also most of us have a limit of being only able to learn 5 to 7 new concepts in a day. My mathematical abilities were appalling until In my early teens I came across two self-paced training manuals at my local library. One was in pure and one applied mathematics. I managed to achieve a huge amount of progress in about 4 weeks and never looked back. Oh, and most of us have a cooking device such as an oven with a timer built in. As an enthusiastic home cook I have another two kitchen timers. The local thrift shop sells them for a dollar or two each.
@MurrayMD
This is almost exactly the same as when I took music lessons growing up. I played the violin and had to practice at least an hour a day, and I had a good teacher (the best around) who made sure we practiced - and he could tell if we were or not. He emphasized technique before moving on to pieces (which he called "dessert") - scales and studies from a reputable pedagogue, to be practiced in all sorts of bowing and rhythm patterns, and with appropriate posture or "style" and with a real good tone quality and technique. As long as we were doing good in that department, he would let us play pieces that we would perform at his weekly recitals at his studio, with the other students and their parents as our audience. He was one of the best teachers around and this daily routine sounds much like page from his playbook. People sometimes compare music to math, and it wasn't until I got interested in it that I figured I'd approach it the same way just because I wanted to be connected to it just like I was with music all through school. I just loved that feeling of having done a real good job, and to me solving problems was like performing - there's a flow to the process, step by step, and a real beauty going from one step to another. Whenever I practice scales on the violin I also wanted to make them sound beautiful, do something musical with them so they wouldn't sound boring. That's the way I love to approach math problems, so each process becomes a very beautiful thing to be performed, and in my case, experienced since there isn't anyone else around, but if there was I'd be able to explain each step of the process so somebody else could experience the beauty too. On the math project I'm currently working on, I go over and over the process and boil it down to its bare minimum essence, and it's surprising what new insights that brings. But that's another story. Thanks for reading this!
@donk100100
I started to learned piano at 64 and there's nothing better than a daily schedule. Your tips on learning math is applicable to learning piano or any other discipline. I'm in the beginner-intermediate stage so this means I'm trying to get my hands to work independently, learn 88 notes, music theory, read music, sight read, etc. I'm still developing the process but here's how I broke down your tips for me: 15 minutes or so to warm up and review previous music learned (3-5 pieces); 5-10 minutes sight reading and playing 3-5 pieces in a given key (i.e., G major); and about 45 minutes to learn the new piece, especially the difficult passage I need to nail. Again, thank you. [Final thought: Did you know music and music theory is math? We have to learn 4/4 time, 3/4, 6/8 time, etc.; a measure can be broken up into whole notes, quarter, half, eighth, sixteenth, etc. I'm not a musical expert but I believe each string is measured precisely based on math principles.]
@cjohnson3836
I think one of the problems is that, actually, a lot of us don't really have a lifetime to do this. Many of us that really need the "adult" math, find ourselves in the situation long after the groundwork should have been done. Got a degree in biology but realize that in the real world, epidemiological work requires a lot more data fitting and modelling? Have fun trying to pick that up in the time it might take you to do a graduate degree (that will largely be empirical, since you don't have the math ability, and equally soak up all your time). Want to be an ecologist because you're good with animals? Hope you're good at calculus. Most of us aren't mathematicians yet now live in a world in which you need to be one; as well as a computer scientist and whatever your actual skill you liked doing was. But, we certainly aren't given the time necessary to gain competency in all these things. Esp. if you're the non-tradition, first generation educated in a family that never had access before.
@highviewbarbell
Bro all the weightlifting analogies were very much appreciated. I started lifting a couple years ago and it turned my life around so much in terms of skills, responsibilities and friends that I'm now going back to school; right now at community college for an associates in chem but im going to take all the math I can and that will help me choose a B.S. when it comes time to transfer
@MaSoldierSide
I just found your channel, and I gotta tell you, when you said it's ok to take breaks I almost cried. I feel very guilty and anxious everytime I stop studying. I'm almost graduating in biology and I already started a second undergraduate course on Data Science, which is waaay out of my comfort zone. I always loved maths, physics, chemistry, but it was never comfortable to study them. I'm trying really hard to make this work, I wanna do some conservation work with the help of data science, it's very important to me, and I really want to succeed. Taking breaks always feels wrong, like I'm not trying hard enough, I'm being lazy or something like that. It gives me so much anxiety, I end up doing absolutely nothing. Thank you so much for your videos, it's a really important Service for students. You're important!
@wlockhart
I have a real problem where I feel I have to do every problem in a math book, otherwise I don't feel like I've studied it. Unfortunately it therefore takes me months or even years to study a single book, depending on how complex it is. I make little progress and I don't enjoy it. I think this situation can arise in mathematics because you eventually realize that any difficulties are due to a lack of practice, but this can be a curse as much as a blessing. Thanks for your video, it's given me a few things to think about.
@gnothocc
Please do make a video for graduate level. You've been very helpful to me during my self-study preparing for grad school, especially when my background is not at all related to maths. I'm starting Ph.D. in Applied Math this Fall thanks to all your advice. I'm really looking forward to it if you're planning to make a video for grad students.
@jankoszuta9835
I discovered this while learning languages as an adult. So true. I wish YouTube had existed while I was doing my maths degree! I'd be interested if you could do a video comparing studying maths with learning a language. Maybe a conversation between yourself and someone like Steve Kaufmann or Luca Lampariello?
@jasonwojcik
It is interesting how this really applies to most things people want to learn. The same tips here work with mastering a music instrument or acquiring a foreign language. I started watching these videos because the YouTube algorithm thought I wanted a list of books for self teaching math. Thank you Math Sorcerer!
@aliensoup2420
Taking a break isn't so much about getting some rest, as it is more about escaping a bad mind-frame. Sometimes if you are caught in a state of confusion or lack of understanding, it is better to stop rather than try to power through the problem. Stepping away helps you clear your mind and reset to start again with a better, more objective perspective. Many times I have helped people find mistakes in their work while looking over their shoulder, even though I may not have had as much knowledge or training. I only had a clearer mind unhindered by confusion or frustration. It's like finding the missing semi-colon ; at the end of a C program statement, that caused you to waste 5 hours looking for a bug that you were certain was something obscure and complicated.
@aggelosaggelos5696