Hating Math but Loving Games

For some reason in my youth, I developed a dislike for math. One theory is that it was because it didn't come as easily for me as other things did (reading, comprehension, etc.). Another theory is that it just wasn't as INTERESTING in application as other things.

I did find, however, when the math problem was interesting (and not presented as a math problem) I really broke out the mental tools and kept at it till I solved it. Some of the old RPG systems I was involved in spurred revitalized interest in math, probabilities, and algebra.

There's been a recent spate of TV shows and movies that have prominently featured mathematicians as the protagonists and emphasized the hidden wonders of mathematics at work in every day life. One of those is the TV show numb3rs...

Interested in following up some of the mathematical theories and methods found in it? Check out this link.

Spurred on by a recent movie lent to me and Kate, I remembered something that always irks me: people claiming that something is true just because of their personal, and therefore anecdotal, experience.

It irks me because, one of the things I apply in life is the concept of mathematical proofs and scientific theories. A proof PROVES something is true. A theory is a model that might be true, and theories tend to gain adherents if it can explain and predict the behavior found in the real world.

However, scientific theories can only be disproven, never proven. Examples that show a theory appears to be correct is NOT proof.

More on this later... I've got a meeting to attend!