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GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Richard MacCutchan17-Apr-24 5:53
mveRichard MacCutchan17-Apr-24 5:53 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Andre Oosthuizen17-Apr-24 7:07
mveAndre Oosthuizen17-Apr-24 7:07 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
raddevus17-Apr-24 7:04
mvaraddevus17-Apr-24 7:04 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Salvatore Terress17-Apr-24 7:53
Salvatore Terress17-Apr-24 7:53 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
raddevus17-Apr-24 8:20
mvaraddevus17-Apr-24 8:20 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
trønderen17-Apr-24 9:32
trønderen17-Apr-24 9:32 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Mircea Neacsu17-Apr-24 11:53
Mircea Neacsu17-Apr-24 11:53 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
trønderen17-Apr-24 13:01
trønderen17-Apr-24 13:01 
I fully believe you story. Maybe that lecturer did not belong in the class of 'excellent' lecturers. Glossing over complexity can be very counter-productive, as you indicate.

However: Grasping the main idea, maybe in a somewhat simplistic way, can be an essential stepping stone. There are exception situations, corner cases, that require special consideration. They can come later. Grasp the main ideas first, even if they do not cover everything.

A good lecturer will make it clear where you might encounter exceptions to the main rules, and those cases will be looked at later. A bad lecturer will use his immense knowledge by rushing on to all the corner cases and exceptions long before the students have had an opportunity to digest the normal case.

Regarding calculus concepts: Lots of students have merely learned 'That's the way we do it!' and have really never truly understood why that's the way to do it. That nature is that way - it is obvious and natural! A good lecturer makes it obvious to you why it simply has to be that way, why the calculus is the way it is.

I remember from my high school years when I got hold of some good books in relativity, and one night realized that the twin paradox simply had to be that way! Anything else would have been completely illogical! Later, I tried to find other textbooks that would explain more advanced topics in relativity in a manner that made it equally obvious. I never found any. But when I was 16-17 yo, I was at the stage where special relativity was an obvious thing to me, even though I was certainly not a calculus wiz kid - not then, and never since.

To me, as a teenager, the twin paradox was self-evident even without advanced differential math. A relativity wiz would probably say that my accept for the twin paradox as something obvious is little worth, it doesn't reflect all the complexity of the calculus. That may be right, but if I can fully accept and and appreciate the twin paradox without all that calculus, I have come a long way compared to a lot of the people around me!

When I ask someone to explain a solution to me, I always ask them to first present an 'intuitive' solution. Your mainline thoughts, void of mathematical details, data types, lambdas, locking mechanisms ... Which principles do you follow in this solution? I consider calculus to be at the coding level. You can say a lot about a system without referring to implementation code. You can say a lot about relativity without going into calculus. And about electrical fields. Just like good system documentation should lead you up to and prepare you for the implementation code, a good lecture on electrical fields or the twin paradox should lead you up to the calculus to take it further. A good one, that is. Not all lectures are good ones.

Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.

GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Mircea Neacsu17-Apr-24 15:20
Mircea Neacsu17-Apr-24 15:20 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
BernardIE531717-Apr-24 18:23
BernardIE531717-Apr-24 18:23 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
jschell18-Apr-24 12:46
jschell18-Apr-24 12:46 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Andre Oosthuizen17-Apr-24 7:20
mveAndre Oosthuizen17-Apr-24 7:20 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Nelek17-Apr-24 7:58
protectorNelek17-Apr-24 7:58 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Andre Oosthuizen17-Apr-24 8:45
mveAndre Oosthuizen17-Apr-24 8:45 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
jschell18-Apr-24 12:48
jschell18-Apr-24 12:48 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
megaadam17-Apr-24 7:23
professionalmegaadam17-Apr-24 7:23 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Jeremy Falcon17-Apr-24 7:34
professionalJeremy Falcon17-Apr-24 7:34 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
RedDk17-Apr-24 7:36
RedDk17-Apr-24 7:36 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
trønderen17-Apr-24 9:36
trønderen17-Apr-24 9:36 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
RedDk17-Apr-24 10:02
RedDk17-Apr-24 10:02 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Salvatore Terress17-Apr-24 16:35
Salvatore Terress17-Apr-24 16:35 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Richard MacCutchan17-Apr-24 22:24
mveRichard MacCutchan17-Apr-24 22:24 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Nelek18-Apr-24 8:13
protectorNelek18-Apr-24 8:13 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
GuyThiebaut18-Apr-24 0:59
professionalGuyThiebaut18-Apr-24 0:59 
GeneralRe: posting a question / problem " format" ? Pin
Salvatore Terress18-Apr-24 2:41
Salvatore Terress18-Apr-24 2:41 

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