Math basics need be strengthening

JoeXIII007 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:20:30 -0800

In need of some daily source of random math problems (upto basic calculus) that will reinforce or (if necessary) re-establish some real fundamental concepts in the algebra portions of calculus, unless something else might work. So I got my first exam back from 2nd Semester Calc based physics today and discovered I received a 78/100, which frankly is not bad compared to the average in the class (mid 60s) but still not great.

My problems were rooted in basic algebra that comes with methods of calculus, and even some elementary stuff as well. One example being I forgot to leave some variables alone in doing partial differentiation (w.r.t. z: 3yz^2 I took to 6z instead of 6yz OR w.r.t. y: 2y^2z^2 I took to 4yz instead of 4yz^2).

Another problem I ran into was that I took 10^-5 to be like 10E-5 on a regular calculator, which among a mess of scientific numbers could be a bad habit.

This has been a recurring problem over the years, but thanks to mercy of professors here and there, it has not been a problem as far as grading is concerned. Now that I have a pretty 'traditional' professor in the sense he will not accept such errors or weigh more heavily on concept, and seeing that I will be transferring into the Big Ten pretty soon, I need to correct this sooner rather than later.

So basically, a full daily workout of fundamentals covering a wide range of material would be in order, and preferably something that does not take too much time.

Unless there is some other thing worth looking into...? I mean I could just remind myself not to do that again, but I think I have been there before. Some reconfig is in need. Somehow. Even some simple daily physics probs might do the trick.

(RSS, if possible, is preferred)

building a life

diode — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:51:55 -0800

I'm looking for ways to change my behavior. It's important for various reasons that I start reinforcing some behaviors and stopping others. I'm a procrastinator for one, and tend to start projects and not finish them for another. Is there a research backed methodology for doing so? I'm really needing to change my behavior patterns that will get me on a better track towards success. I tend to avoid things that will take effort and just stay on the easy, habitual routine. Ultimately this is working to my detriment in the short and long term.

I studied a program by a company called Sybervision that theoretically had discovered a research-based way to reinforce positive behavior that underlie success. It was based on cueing parts of the brain in order to create powerful images, sounds, and feelings of success plus one would imagine a hero figure associated with a positive behavior doing battle with a negative figure associated with a negative trait. The hero would win and you would associate yourself with the hero figure.

Ultimately I didn't see any major changes using this program for the period I was using it. There's all sorts of stuff out there like NLP, subliminals, hypnosis, affirmations and what have you that I don't think does a heck of a lot.

Given how important it is for people to change their behavior successfully or to reinforce positive traits and actions, you'd think there'd be more research around it. Perhaps there is and I don't know of it.

So, are there any new techniques of building and reinforcing behavior that are based on research?

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Math basics need be strengthening

building a life