<p>Saying one subject has more memerization than another does not imply it is easier, or harder, especially since everyone is different in how they think.
That said...............................................</p>
<p>I would have to say that history and languages require more memerization. This is coming from an engineering major. Think of when you study for a spanish test, you memerize vocabulary. In physics you practice problems the night before, you will fail every exam if you simply remember formulas. In physics you must learn how to apply those equations. Many math based courses, you can choose to cut down the "memorization" by LEARNING how to derive. Instead of memerizing the derivatives of all the trig identities, I find it simpler to just remember sin = cos
and cos = -sin and then apply quotient rule to find other identites.</p>
BS. Physics and all those formulas might be more memorization (definitely not the majority), but most of the mathematical sciences (math, physics, engineering) are based on logic and application, not memorization.</p>
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False, physics is much harder than math could ever hope to be.
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</p>
<p>A running joke among mathematicians: physics is too hard for the physicists :)</p>
<p>Anyway, comparing math and physics is like comparing apples and oranges. Physics (as far as I know) tries to explain the world through various means. Math in contrast is axiomatically: you start with a few assumptions and then study the structure that is implied by those assumptions.</p>
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In math, you remember the formulas and how to do them with each practice problem. It's not like you have to sit down and remember that "this" goes with "this" and means "this" and caused "this" which is named.....
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OKgirl, I don't know what sort of math background you have but in none of my math classes that I consider "real" math (that excludes calc, for example) you could get away with memorizing formulas. Higher math is exactly what you say is not math: sitting down and remembering that 'this' is true because of 'that' and so on. Formulas? Prove them and then move on. Don't expect to do 50 practice problems applying the same formula over and over and over again - leave that to the physicists, economists, computer scientists etc.</p>
<p>Knowing when to apply them is memorization. Just because math is logical by nature doesn't mean you have to apply logic to do it. Software code is logical, but you still need to memorize if you want to program. Logic helps you read it, but to write it, you need to memorize.</p>
<p>^ Thank you, <a href="mailto:b@rium">b@rium</a>. Once you leave the realm of calculus (which is damn early in your college career) you get into real math. As an engineer I only took linear algebra and differential equations after calculus, but even at that level math is purely conceptual. I have friends that are math majors and every single problem they do is a proof. Who seriously memorizes math?</p>
<p>And physics is NOT intuitive and worldly. Take a quantum mechanics or upper division E&M class before you say such things!</p>
<p>I think it's just what your interests are in... if you are interested in the material you are studying then you are much more likely to retain the information.</p>
<p>Let me clarify my view:
Math is not pure memorization; You have to know how to do the problem and when the correct step is to do somwthing. Sometimes you need a formula to do math problems, so you need to know the formula. I like math because there are specific ways to do things (even if you can go different routes to get it) and everyone should have the same answer, therefore it require no creativity (like writing does in English).</p>
<p>To me, history is pure memorization. One must learn to link one event with a person and time and then know the people involved and the result of it. I don't really know a way of practicing this.</p>
<p>In order to speak spanish, you have to memorize what the words mean. You must then learn how to put them into a sentence and then know what ending needs to go on there.</p>
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You have to know how to do the problem and when the correct step is to do somwthing.
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Maybe.
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Sometimes you need a formula to do math problems, so you need to know the formula.
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Maybe.
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there are specific ways to do things
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no
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everyone should have the same answer
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NO
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therefore it require no creativity
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NO!!!!</p>
<p>Again, I am not talking about trig, geometry or calculus but about axiomatic (proof-based) abstract math. Abstract proofs require a lot of creativity and memorizing formulas usually won't get you very far.</p>
<p>I agree with the above. Specific ways of doing things? Everyone gets the same answer? No creativity needed? Sounds like someone that took intro calculus and thinks that he even knows what math is.</p>
<p>Take a course on abstract algebra and then reevaluate your opinion.</p>
<p>Music and architecture are no walks in the park either. My friend like lives in the studio.</p>
<p>Law is hard too. There's so many damn directions that you could approach the study of law with, including economic, political, sociological, philosophical, etc. etc. and you have to know basically the economic/political/sociological/philosophical/social rationale behind the law to be able to apply the damn thing. Not to mention the sheer volume of the law.....thousands of pages of statutory law plus hundreds of thousands of court cases that establish reams and reams of common law, all of which have to be in line with the constitution and each having profound effects on another. There is nothing substantively hard about the law (i.e. killing/stealing is not cool) but the multiple dimensions make it hard.</p>
<p>Though in my opinion, nothing beats the hard sciences. I generally find that professional subjects are often complex and multidimensional, although not necessarily "hard" in the traditional sense of the word.</p>
<p>The douchey professors tend to be concentrated in the hard sciences......that isn't to say that ALL hard science profs are douchey but a lot are.</p>
<p>the class of discussing the Science of Logic by Hegel (translated version).
Upper level math is applying the same techniques which is no different than using the parallel techniques to translate latin. This ending means that this is an ablative case so ...., so this domain implies that we are allowed to use ...</p>