Help me wordsmith out the difference between the words know and understand. They seem to be used interchangeably but the meanings must be different. If you have words in languages other than Englosh that can clarify this difference, so much the better. It seems you can know something without understanding it, but can you understand without knowing?
posted by Xurando on Jul 24, 2011 - 15 answers

Help me understand my hard-to-understand calculus shirt. [more inside]
posted by wanderingmind on Jul 5, 2010 - 9 answers

How do I know if I should leave her, if I love her? [more inside]
posted by Atlantic on Apr 19, 2010 - 34 answers

I have always been horrible at math, but somehow a great programmer. I have found that writing a computer program that demonstrates a certain mathematical concept enables me to better understand the concept. I'm a psych major and I brought this up once in the research lab I've been working in. My prof said he recalls that someone did research and/or created a system in which a student writes a computer program that is pertinent to a certain mathematical concept and upon completion is given the regular math problem (as it would appear in a math class). This enables the student to better understand the math problem, solve, and learn math. Has anyone heard of this or anything similar? A learning system such as this would be a blessing to my education. Thanks.
posted by fightoplankton on Apr 13, 2009 - 15 answers

Is it possible to be bad at math and understand the structure of the universe? [more inside]
posted by diogenes on Aug 20, 2008 - 19 answers

My friend's boyfriend sucks. She knows that, but she doesn't seem to realize how serious it is. Please help me help her. [more inside]
posted by neblina_matinal on Jul 9, 2008 - 44 answers

An empty field. Nothing for miles and miles and miles. And a gun. I shoot the gun. The bullet blasts out of the barrel and doesn't stop until....well, that's my question. Few more details inside. [more inside]
posted by ryecatcher on Jun 10, 2007 - 19 answers