Do You Hate Math?
Lots of people hate math. Some do okay with math
but don’t really enjoy it that much.
Two people love math! Well, okay, there are
more than two who love it—we
forgot about Bart Bellwinkle in Bismark, North
Dakota. Our goal is for the three in the last category
to continue loving it, for those in the second
category to start enjoying it, and for those
in the first category to start liking it at
least a little bit!
Some people think only geeks like math. Many people
dislike math because their friends or relatives
dislike it. Some of us have had a bad experience
in a previous math course. Some of us feel like
we don’t
have a math mind or that we’ll never use
this stuff. And many girls are lead to believe
that boys are genetically “better” at
math. Whatever the reason, math phobia grips most
of us at one time or another. We could tell you
that all of the above reasons are nonsense, but
that won’t make
you feel any better. We will, instead, offer some
tricks to help you overcome your distaste for math
and have a successful course. The ideas come from
instructors around the world, not from a single
source, so we think you will find the ideas extremely
useful.
Math is the building block of nature and things
within it. From leaf patterns to music to skyscrapers,
math supports the various textures that make life
interesting and unique. Math is needed for getting
and surviving most jobs: nurse, chef, clothing
designer, electrician, investment broker, salesperson,
architect, banker, builder, business owner, plumber,
and the list goes on. And math is needed in our
personal lives, such as in budgeting, saving, deciding
which products to buy and not to buy, deciding
which loan to get, and avoiding getting “ripped
off.” Remember,
Math Is Our Friend
Math is not an obstacle; it’s a tool to
help us along life’s path. If we have good
math skills our life will go much smoother; it’s
like having a buddy along for the ride, there
to help us when we need it! We keep hearing from
students and instructors that Math
for Business and Life is the most real-life text on the market.
It’s stuff you will use! And the
author uses a friendly, nonintimidating writing
style. As a result, you should find that math
is more fun and meaningful than with textbooks
you have used in the past. We sure hope so!