Maths is useful, but stupid

I don't agree with it when people say maths is "Logical."


I didn't say it was useless, but it's absolutely stupid. I don't see the "Logic" in it at all really. It's just that= that so it's that. There isn't much to it really.I've been doing this maths problem for ages( still trying to get it into my head really.) I just know when I put it into algebra question, it equals that. And, there is nothing else to it really.

How do people come up with sh*t? Maths isn't logical. If you know steps you go far that's it.

This type of mindset about math is precisely the reason why many students do not do great in math. They often see math as memorizing a bunch of procedures, facts, and formulas without understanding the logic or the "why" behind it. Then when they are presented with a nonroutine problem, a proof, or a hard word problem, they often do not know how to begin.

The top math students, on the other hand, often see the logic behind these facts and therefore do not have to labor as hard to memorize them.

For example:

1) The distance formula d = sqrt((x2 - x1)^2 + (y2 - y1)^2) follows directly from the Pythagorean theorem.

2) The foil method for multiplying binomials follows from applying the distributive property twice:
(a + b)(c + d) = a(c + d) + b(c + d) = ac + ad + bc + bd.

3) The formula for the area of a triangle follows from the fact that we can draw a rectangle, with same base and same height as the triangle, so that the triangle clearly occupies half the area of a rectangle.

4) The rule x^m * x^n = x^(m + n) really follows from the definition of exponents: m factors of x multiplied by n factors of x results in (m + n) factors of x.
If you don't see this, try small numbers for m and n, such as 2 and 3 and write out the factors:
x^2 * x^3 = (x*x)*(x*x*x) = x*x*x*x*x = x^5 and note that 5 comes from adding 2 and 3.