Carthage

« Mystery Woman Baffles Old Friends, Acquaintances | Main | Oops, no. »

November 07, 2002

The Geeks in Applied Calculus

...are eating my living brain.

I did good up until the first midterm and now I'm struggling. Does anyone know about derivatives? (Cue helpless mocking laughter from all of you who know math, except KTV who seems to have forsworn that kind of mockery. Do we know derivatives? Yes, and we can recite the whole alphabet too...)

Okay, but I need help, so quit laughing for a minute. It's very basic (I assume) stuff, as it's just being introduced to us, and now we're learning all the rules for exponential equations and stuff and my head is sort of coming off. Because suddenly with no warning my professor got all snippy about going slow - which he was so good at up until now - and said You should know all this immediately from algebra. Urk.

So, help?

Posted by didofoot at November 7, 2002 10:44 AM

Comments

ummm...i don't remember. i wasn't *really* friends with my math teachers, contrary to popular brian belief.

Posted by: michele at November 7, 2002 10:52 AM

Me no help. Me not understand.

My advice to you? Do all your homework immediately after class and go to that impatient shits office and make him 'splain it all slow like.

Oh and btw, you are NOT dumb. You are the smartest EVER of all EVERs.

Posted by: tracy at November 7, 2002 11:02 AM

My Calculus teacher was Lebanese, so he tried to prove to me that he didn't hate my Jew ass by giving me a B even though I never did the work. My advice: Find a Turk professor who wants to put the Crusades behind him.

Posted by: jason at November 7, 2002 11:18 AM

I hereby offer my tutorial services, free of charge or in exchange for continued superlative blogging on your part.
I am not going to explain derivatives online, as good teaching depends on my knowing what you already understand, which is usually more than you think.
But if someone has a gimmicky way of explaining it, maybe through physics?, fire away.

Posted by: Calculus I-IV, Linear Algebra, Set Theory, Baby You Fucking Name It at November 7, 2002 11:18 AM

oh, and p.s., never rely on the patience, love, understanding, or charitable good nature of a math teacher. it happens, but it's like Thor smiling on you.

[Eydie, rest assured that the vulgarity in my previous sign-off *derives* from corrupting factors beyond your most nurturing Girl Scout leadership.]

Posted by: i zap you, earthling! at November 7, 2002 11:22 AM

i've been helping my younger siblings with their respective math home-works. want to be my honoraray quarter-sister?

Posted by: holohan at November 7, 2002 12:49 PM

oh, and another thing. Isn't it Gene who talked you into this class? You want I should break his kneecaps for you?

Posted by: tracy at November 7, 2002 01:37 PM

I'm with you, Tracy! I say we beat him over the head with an abacus!

Posted by: jason at November 7, 2002 01:47 PM

i have a mini abacus!

Posted by: michele at November 7, 2002 02:12 PM

A mini abacus won't do it! We'll need something bigger. Like a big abacus! Are you with me!

Posted by: jason at November 7, 2002 02:27 PM

YES!

Posted by: tracy at November 7, 2002 03:21 PM

do i have to buy said abacus? because counting on my little abacus tells me i am broke.

Posted by: michele at November 7, 2002 03:34 PM

If we pool our money and resources, we can get the biggest darned abacus Gene's head has ever come up against! Vivre le aritmetique!

Posted by: jason at November 7, 2002 03:44 PM

l'aritmetique.

ummm i've got (slide slide clink slide clink) 5 pennies to contribute.

Posted by: michele at November 7, 2002 03:54 PM

LOL. you guys are too much. slide slide clink.....giovanni.

Posted by: tracy at November 7, 2002 03:59 PM

wow. tracy has seen my 5 pennies and rasied me a giovanni, he's probably worth a lot. not. back to your ass-burger-perger giovanni!

Posted by: michele at November 7, 2002 04:05 PM

Check the third floor of Soda. or is it the fourth? biggest damn abacus I've ever seen, and it's already built. Just send one-L in to steal it.

Posted by: brian at November 7, 2002 05:36 PM

Thanks for the tip. Vivre l'Cute Brian!

Posted by: jason at November 7, 2002 05:42 PM

LE Cute Brian.

and i'm on it. will it fit in my bag? i could have some issues otherwise.

Posted by: one l at November 7, 2002 09:46 PM

it will not fit in a BAG
even if the bag does sag
it will not fit in a car
whether going near or far
you can not take it 'chele-one-L
to send gene right on down to hell.

Posted by: brian at November 8, 2002 01:19 AM

pity.

p.s. i love you, gene!

Posted by: michele at November 8, 2002 09:11 AM

Vivre le Gene!

Posted by: jason at November 8, 2002 09:31 AM

Le Gene.

Yes we do love Gene, so.

Posted by: tracy at November 8, 2002 09:42 AM

i like that this post was asking for math help and it's now 24 comments long about hitting gene with abacuses and then feeling bad for being mean to gene and apologizing.

Posted by: michele at November 8, 2002 11:05 AM

Post a comment