This is my busiest work week of the year, and yet...here I am. My ability to procrastinate knows no bounds. Well, lucky you, I guess! Shareholders of my company, NOT SO MUCH!
Penny wants to know more about my experiences as a Mathy Type. First of all, it's not like I'm some kind of genius protege over here. I'm just a regular person who likes math and statistics and analytics and such. It does tend to come up on the blog a lot, only because so many of YOU are mathy-types too, and so I know I won't get the stink-eye when I mention it like I do in real life.
As I've said before, I was on the Math Team in high school. But when I got to college, I knew I was going to major in accounting. Now, many people find this hard to believe, but accounting has little to do with math. In practice, it's more about problem solving and trend analysis and statistics. And boredom. (You: SOUNDS LIKE MATH TO ME!) At any rate, the math requirements for accounting students are...well, they are "Business Math". This is a euphemism for "MS Excel is smart, so you don't have to be". I DID take calculus for my math credits, instead of Business Math, but only because I accidentally told my advisor that I had Calc in high school. I was a freshman! I didn't know! So, I went from the math/science building, where accounting majors are the Dumb Jocks, to the business building, where accounting majors are The Smart Ones Who Will Actually Get a Good Job After Graduation. And that was the end of that. Should I have chosen a more Mathy course of study? I don't know, but I DID take full advantage of the selection of hot Frat Rats the business school provided, so I guess we'll call it even.
Horrifying Frat Rat Story: One day in grad school I was sitting at a bar with a bunch of male accounting classmates, and one of them introduced me to a buddy by saying, "This is Tessie, and I have to say that she is the only girl I've ever met who might be smarter than me!". Um. THANKS? Jesus H. I can't even blame this one on Texas, since he was from KANSAS.
As for whether or not I will encourage AD in Mathy Pursuits, um...I guess? I will encourage her in pretty much any pursuit, I hope. Other than, like, WHITE SUPREMACY or whatever. Although, as a Fake Hispanic she is going to have an uphill battle with that one.
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19 comments:
Well thank god you're blogging today. There are soooo many things I could be doing, but it's Monday, it's really quiet around here (the students are in exams) and have not yet had enough caffeine.
My uncle is a bona fide math genius. He started university when he was 14 years old. When he was done (at 18 years old), he was advised that his career path was either: a) more school (which he didn't want because university at 14 years old does not add up to a good experience); b) teachers college; or c) accounting. He chose c) and is very successful, although a little odd - probably the genius thing, not the accounting thing. :-)
First off, you are WAY smart! That is funny about the KS frat rat, I bet I can guess who that was! I love the analytical part of accounting too, it is like a big puzzle that HAS to work! Oh, and I got suckered into college calc as well, big mistake! It is hard to learn something you already learned a completely different way!
E-It IS the person you are thinking of.
Calc. Ugh. As a biology major, I didn't have the choice about taking it. It was the WORST! You poor thing - could've totally avoided it. But, alas, know you can claim full rights as a math-head. Humor + brains = coolest woman in the world. Oh - perhaps with your fake hispanic heritage, you can create a scholarship fund for those with a similar, uh, lineage...
I LIKED Calculus. Enough to take not only II, but III as well (took I in HS). Theory of Calculus, on the other hand, was a pain. But then I MAJORED in Applied Mathematics (the kind you're supposed to be able to APPLY, hence the name).
You name the math class, I probably took it. Discrete? Yep. Continuous? Yep. Statistics? Yep. I even took math classes that weren't math classes, except YES THEY WERE. Pharmacokinetics? Yep. Epidemiology? Yep. Systems science? Yep. Cryptography? Yep.
Do I remember much AT ALL from these classes? Nope.
I ended up in accounting but I don't have the degree - I ALMOST had the math degree and I was another idiot that took all the calc classes by choice as well. I was also the stat and trig grader for my scholarship hours. I didn't want to do the thesis work on the math degree (100 pages on your own original math thought or something BARF)so I finished off a major in English (also almost finished a psych degree but that is a whole other story). I love the problem solving aspect. Plus I like to organize/order things so my job is a perfect fit. Total geek eh?
How did the "fake hispanic" name come about? Have you told this story already and I missed it?
I was just on the phone with my sister, who works in a program that helps high school dropouts get their GED, and while I was on the phone she had to put me on hold so that she could discuss with one of her students what business math is. And now here you are posting about it. I should send her this link.
MBM-I say we are Fake Hispanics because we have an Hispanic last name, and BR has a Very Hispanic first name, but we are all Regulation Whities. BR's dad was Puerto Rican but he doesn't look Hispanic at all, and neither does AD.
I took AP Calculus in High school, and got a 5 out of 5 on the test, which stood in for Calc I and II. So I took Calc III.
I was only required to take Calc I for my pre-med track. Who's the math geek now???
I really rather stupid when it comes to Math but I still like you! Though I have this odd memory for stats and weird number-y type of things which really freaks people out...
But seriously I am so bad at Math it is something I worry about and want my son to be good at because I really just gave up on being good at Math around the 3rd grade when I could not get my times tables down - talk about a LONG downward slide ;)
The only "Mathy" type class I enjoyed in college was Accounting... because I got to write in pencil and make neat little rows in ledgers. ;)
I'm just a regular person who likes math and statistics and analytics and such.
Oxymoron! Oxymoron!
Still having a good chuckle over the fake hispanic thing.
Someday I am going to take college algebra and PASS. That is my goal. Ugh.
That Frat Rat Asshole? I would have punched his chauvinistic, arrogant, piece-if-shit face. Jesus H. INDEED.
Artemisia-HAHA! What I really should do is go back in time and punch MYSELF in the face for having the maddest crush on him. SIGH.
Oh now, let's not start beating ourselves up for inappropriate crushes - I'll be black and blue! That's not very festive for the holidays!
I realized 3/4 way through my chem degree, that I really should have been a math major. I'm task oriented, though, and decided that it was too late in the game to change plans.
Don't know if I would like allof the accounting a business math, but the frat daddies sound fun. More fun the the boys in the chem building.
I have always sucked at math, bigtime. But in grade school for a while I wanted to be a math major. I was obsessed. I think maybe because I sucked so much.
OMG - was I drunk when I wrote that commrnt above?
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