Any math people?

[jyeary90]

Just curious, because I would like to ask you if you are a math person, is it just me or is Real Analysis pretty hard? It just seems like no matter how much I try to study it and no matter how much it seems like I understand it in class, when it comes to actually writing proofs, I just can't seem to do it on homework and tests. It's the only class I've ever gotten a C+ in, and I'm afraid this semester my grade will be lower. I've also tried going to the professor but gah idk I am just confused

 

[remilard]

Just curious, because I would like to ask you if you are a math person, is it just me or is Real Analysis pretty hard? It just seems like no matter how much I try to study it and no matter how much it seems like I understand it in class, when it comes to actually writing proofs, I just can't seem to do it on homework and tests. It's the only class I've ever gotten a C+ in, and I'm afraid this semester my grade will be lower. I've also tried going to the professor but gah idk I am just confused

I didn't find the undergrad version too tough but I didn't go to a great school or anything.

Almost everyone hits a wall at some point as the classes get more abstract. Assuming you aren't planning on taking any classes that have real analysis as a prerequisite and assuming the grades in your other math/technical classes are high, barely scraping by in real analysis is probably not going to negatively impact your life.

 

[david_42]

I had problems with it, but I really think most of the trouble was the instructor for the first and third sections. I say that because I aced the middle term with a different instructor. The first guy was brilliant in theory, so good he was unable to explain anything. The class petitioned our department to have him removed from the course. Successfully! When he pointed out that several students did well in the class, they all admitted to skipping the lectures and learning it on their own.

That said, I've never used it for anything.

 

[jyeary90]

I didn't find the undergrad version too tough but I didn't go to a great school or anything.

Almost everyone hits a wall at some point as the classes get more abstract. Assuming you aren't planning on taking any classes that have real analysis as a prerequisite and assuming the grades in your other math/technical classes are high, barely scraping by in real analysis is probably not going to negatively impact your life.

I'm not really concerned about my GPA or anything, I mean I realize one or two C's over the course of an entire college career doesn't really harm your GPA that much, but I just don't seem to get it. I follow along perfectly fine with lectures, but when it comes to homework + tests I seem to fail. I guess analysis isn't really my forte. I like Abstract Algebra a lot better anyways so I guess no worries

 

[Beernik]

I've never heard calculus refered to as real analysis. Calculus makes the most sense when you are doing physics.

I made it through calculus, differential equations, and complex variables without being terribly good at proofs. I don't know that I ever successfully derived anything.

But I'm an engineer. I don't create equations. I use ones other people have derived.

My brother, on the other hand, is proof and theorm freak. PhD in statistics.

 

[forcera]

I've never heard calculus refered to as real analysis. Calculus makes the most sense when you are doing physics.

+ the derivative of f(x) = x. No one had done it yet so I had to.

Calculus started to make a lot more sense to me when I started to use it in my upper level economics classes like econometrics. It's really nice to know all the short cuts like the derivative of a cost function gives you a marginal cost function. I use the stats that I learned in college almost every day at work, but it builds off of a good understanding of calculus.

Like my econometrics teacher said on the last day of class "Its econometrics of course your confused. That's the nature of the course. Now your confused on a higher level." I loved/hated econometrics, but like I said before my math skills pay the bills now.