<p>Ever since declaring myself a math major a couple months ago, I'm met with a horrified, incredulous, or downright disgusted stare a fair portion of the occasions I inform people of my major. The look generally conveys one of the following sentiments:</p>
<ol>
<li>I hate math and think it's just disgusting that anyone would actually want to study it.</li>
<li>You must either be insane or a masochist.</li>
<li>What an unfortunate waste of time.</li>
<li>Math is incredibly boring and anyone who likes it must be a robotic machine with no personality.</li>
</ol>
<p>Getting this response doesn't bother me much and in fact I find it rather amusing, but I'm curious to know if others experience this and if so why math is perceived the way it is. I think I could come up with a fairly long list of majors that are less useful and less interesting than mathematics, but the idea of a major in math seems to be an object of utter loathing to a good portion of my non-math-major peers. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I’m a potential math major too and from my experience, people don’t like the number crunching. They associate it with the concepts, difficult formulas, etc and write it off as bad.</p>
<p>I thought this until I saw a PBS special on Andrew Wiles & Fermat’s Last Theorem. That’s when I realized that math wasn’t finished yet - that there is more to math than just solving problems in a book with the answers in the back. I think the other thing about math is that you don’t necessarily see it as elegant until you are deep into it, and most people just never get that far.</p>
<p>Maybe the more we teach it as “problem solving a la creative thinking” as opposed to “problem solving a la tedious heuristics,” the more people will come to appreciate and enjoy it.</p>
<p>Really? I always thought of math majors as kind of… commendable. Like I would never be able to handle it so I always have a respect for that kind of major.</p>
<p>I think most people associate math majors with elementary school memories of repetitive long division problems, etc.
Personally, I too commend math majors. I’m terrible at math & couldn’t even dream of it.</p>
<p>People either can’t grasp, or aren’t exposed to actually interesting, rich, beautiful, deep math topics, and thus default to associating math with that what they were taught in school–schools (in the US) in turn, tend to teach math in a terribly uninteresting and mechanical way.</p>
<p>I remember in middle school, when I would do MathCounts problems in class, a girl asked me if I wanted to be an accountant since I was good with numbers. I kinda died inside at the thought.</p>
<p>I definitely think it’s a great major for some people, but I think that look is from people like generallywrong who hate the idea of working with numbers their whole life. In general (and I do realize that these are stereotypes), right-brained people can’t imagine what could be interesting about things like math or science, much in the same way that left-brained people can’t help but think the humanities are a waste of time. Personally, I’m fairly balanced but leaning more toward right-brained, so while I enjoy math, I can’t imagine just doing that with my life. So I think that’s what the look is, just them not being able to put themselves in your situation and imagine themselves as happy, even though it’s a really good choice for you.</p>
<p>I always envy math majors because they’re usually some of the brightest students on campus. Way harder than engineering. Such a shame though that math and science are looked down upon in this country.</p>
<p>*I always envy math majors because they’re usually some of the brightest students on campus. Way harder than engineering. Such a shame though that math and science are looked down upon in this country. *</p>
<p>Why harder than engineering ? As an engineer, I think math is easier b/c you don’t necessarily have to apply the math to physical world–you just number crunch. Personally, I think math would’ve suited me better, its not as conceptual as many of the engineering concepts I’ve encountered. </p>
<p>I agree that math/science aren’t having a higher importance, its the exact opposite in Asian countries…sad really.</p>
This statement is kind of like saying that engineers do nothing but build toothpick-and-marshmallow bridges. It might accurately describe the two subjects at the kindergarten level but has very little applicability to postsecondary education. Look at the course requirements for a math major at your university. The core of a math major is focused on proof-based courses, not computation. Your argument about “number crunching” might be applicable to applied math, but in that case all the supposed difficulty related to physical applications is no longer unique to engineering.</p>
I never said it doesn’t. But I can understand how one might characterize some areas of numerical analysis and mathematical modeling as “number crunching” even though the material remains highly abstract.</p>
<p>Of course, that implies nothing about the difficulty or true nature of the field - just how it might be perceived.</p>
<p>I have such deep respect for math majors. I know a few other students who are currently majoring in math, and they are some of the brightest people I’ve ever met! I myself am a history student, but I am fascinated by calculus and higher math. I think it takes a lot of willpower and strength to study math in such detail. Regardless, if you’re not a math student, it is always important to remember that what your major is to you, is what math is to math students. It’s just their passion! If they want to obtain a career in mathematics in the future, whether it’s in teaching, research, or even working for the government, then so be it.</p>