Hmm? Yes, I'm really asking you — why? I get it when someone doesn't like broccoli, aka green mini-trees, as it may have a weird taste or something. (I'm not talking about myself, I loooove broccoli, but as we know, I'm weird because I love maths as well, so it's not surprising!) But how could someone say, "I hate maths"?
Of course – "nobody needs it," "it's too complicated," "the maths teacher is unfair," "it makes no sense"...
Hold on! Those are all just excuses. I get it, you don't need to be as overexcited as I am when seeing a maths problem to be solved, but think a little...
"Nobody needs it" — False!
Everyone needs a bit of maths here and there. That's just a fact, and you need to get over it. As you can read in my previous article, people who do art need maths. Even quite advanced, I'd say. IT people need maths. Scientists need maths... Okay, let's go to an easier level — my dad needs maths when doing a lot of DIY work around the house and garden (I know that well as I've done lots of it with him and plenty of other stuff on my own) — lots of measuring, calculating, using logic... My mum needs it for cooking (ratios, simple proportion), for sewing and knitting (calculating, geometry, word problems). Everyone needs maths when shopping (estimating — is the fiver in my pocket enough for all the stuff in my shopping basket?), and for many, many other daily tasks.
How about working with the household budget? Yes, you need to know your figures. Otherwise, you'd more easily slip into red numbers (and nobody likes red numbers, not even me).
Back to advanced maths — the "popular" theme, statistics. Yeah, I use a lot of it for my own good. If you're involved in running your own business, you'll start to love statistics. It helps predict your future, and when you see no red numbers there, it helps you sleep at night. (And when you see red numbers, at least you know it's high time to do something about it — better earlier than later.)
"It's too complicated" — False!
Trust me, it's not too complicated. Sure, there's some maths stuff I find quite difficult, too, but even then, I know if I needed to, I'd learn it and know how to use it. It may seem complicated when you don't know it yet. And we're at the point where "the maths teacher is unfair" (or "cannot explain stuff", "the maths work given is stupid"...) and that "all maths makes no sense" — so all these excuses make you think you must hate maths, as there's no other solution.
Alright, people can be different. Your maths teacher may have no time to explain things well or may not be able to explain stuff the way you need. They could even be mean or unfair. But that's still no problem with maths on its own. That's just about the people who introduce maths to you. Then it may make no sense to you, and it may seem complicated.
But once again — maths is in high demand on a daily basis. I understand if you'd like to study history or make your living as a singer, you won't need advanced maths (and therefore won't need to study it at a further level). But all that you're supposed to know about maths during your compulsory school years are just the basics for normal everyday life. So, make peace with maths and stop hating it; that attitude isn't good, nor is it helpful for anyone (especially not for yourself).
Yes, all the algebra, equations (even sets of equations – trust me, lots of word problems from everyday life can be solved when turned into sets of equations or inequalities, including quadratics), geometry, ratios and proportion, even some statistics and probability, I dare to say that functions as well... all of it you'll need from time to time in your future lives.
So try not to hate maths. Try to understand it. If needed, seek some help to get into it. It's better than living with that bitter taste in your mouth every time you need to calculate some percentages (when you see something on sale or how much money 4% p.a. mortgage interest means) just because ages ago you convinced yourself that maths is something to stay away from, as "it stinks and bites and gives you a rash".
To confess: I never liked geometry. (Wow! Veronika doesn't/didn't like some kind of maths, unbelievable!) Not that I wouldn't understand it, but it was sooo not exact (even with pencil and ruler — still not good enough!) Later, I learned about the interesting uses of geometry, not just to bother me during school hours sketching a million triangles and circles. The fact that it could be calculated as well (analytic geometry) and that some maths theorems can be proved only by using geometry, or that some numbers cannot be expressed as a number as we're used to but can be drawn using geometry... that did the trick and re-labelled geometry for me from "unwanted" to "interesting."
It's always about finding something that washes away the bitter taste and leaves us thinking about maths without prejudice (and its beauty... or not? Is there no beauty in maths? Okay, that's too much to ask, I guess...).
