This was my biggest struggle with algebra. I could follow directions and solve the 50 repetitive problems. I just found it boring. Nobody would,or could explain what the purpose of the equations was. What it represented in reality. So to me it felt pointless and I just wouldn’t do it.
I’m a licensed chemical engineer and mentoring junior engineers is what I enjoy most about being an engineer. If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for explanations of, I’m happy to help. If it’s not in my scope, I’ll do my best to learn it and explain it.
Please sir, what the hell do differentials do?
For the record you’re presumably asking about derivatives (or, for the process, differentiation). A differential is just an infinitely small (infinitesimal is the term) change in some quantity. With that in mind, differentiation is how you take a function and get its rate of change (distance to speed is the usual example). You do this by essentially—and this is a theme with calculus—taking an approximation and making it so precise as to be exact. Specifically you take a small part of the curve and find its average rate of change, which is just the amount of change in the function divided by the amount of change in the independent variable. This is again an approximation, but if you make the part of the curve really really small the approximation becomes really really good until it’s no longer an approximation. It’s really just generalizing the idea of a slope to functions that aren’t straight lines. This is what the mathematical definition of differentiation lim_∆x→0(∆f/∆x) means.
Does that make sense?
And don’t forget the “exercises” where the author of the book does not know the solution, either.
I once had the pleasure of asking one of these authors about this, and he just said “well no one has the time to derive solutions for all these exercises”.
Good thing his job is automated now rite? 😂
Try asking on engineering advice forums where you’ll learn that they’re sick of idiots like you not understanding and how you should just give up because obviously this just isnt for you.
I miss [email protected] :(
Is there another community or instance that has started?
Not that I know. But I think it should be democratically decided by the users who posted frequently on the old instance. And, my apologies, the new community should certainly not be on lemmy.ml.
No need for it, but I think Lemmy.ml would be a good place. Would scare off many people who engage negatively, just by the community being there.
we made them up
Reminds me of when I tried to learn c++
