Question how scientists solve such profoundly complex equations

[Oz67]

How do scientists do Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus and Quantum Mechanics? With characteristics of Dyscalculia I have, I just don't understand how scientists solve such profoundly complex equations.

 

[Progster]

I don't have dyscalculia, but I was never any good at algebra either.

It's the way their brain is wired I guess... they see connections that others don't. Or their brain is better able to grasp and navigate these abstract concepts. I'm more of a visual thinker, and always found geometry a lot easier than algebra.

They don't necessarily arrive at an answer straight away; some work years on a problem before finding an answer. Persistance, not giving up until an answer is found.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

That sort of reminds me of a saying,..."How do you eat an elephant?...One bite at a time." These sorts of things,...especially mathematics, human kind has been working on and building upon since the beginning of the earliest of written language,...probably even before. Even the most intelligent of mathematicians, those rare true geniuses,...those that just seemingly are born to understand mathematics,...stand on the shoulders of others.

A scene from Good Will Hunting that may give some perspective:

Standing on the shoulders of others,...Euler's method,...scene from Hidden Figures:

 

[Ken]

I was obsessed with the desire of being an electronics design engineer from a very early, pre-teen, age. Through the course of going to school and realizing math was profoundly difficult for me, I was depressingly disappointed, because I knew math was required for engineering. Then came algebra and especially boolean algebra which I could not comprehend regardless how hard I studied it. My hopes of an electronics design engineering career was totally dashed.

But I could never shake my passion for electronics design. I continued to pursue it as a hobby, which finally became a career. Indeed boolean algebra was required, but I understood it from the other end. I still can't fathom it as taught in school or figure it out from a "standard" published formula, but I can easily understand it from the mechanics of the circuit.

With that, I would guess the scientists discover the math from the problem end instead of the formula end and even discover the formulas from the problem end.

Just my guess...

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I do not do the math have a reasonable math background high school grade 13 my strength is the ability to visualize. Just bypass the math picture speaks a thousand words. and yes, math is a language. Calculus is the easiest to visualize.

 

[Ken]

Another example is Homer Hickam. Homer was terrible in math, but he solved advanced rocket science math from the problem - mechanical- end. Here is a scene from the Movie October Sky that portrays Homer's start in rocket science:

 

[Ms Muffinz]

How do scientists do Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus and Quantum Mechanics?

If I literally answer your question, they learn it from the very beginning starting from basic math like 1+1, rigorously practice and master every single new item they learn, and keep doing this for years and decades.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Start in high school, taking as many math courses as possible, then take undergraduate degree in mathematics, the specialize in branch of mathematics that interest you at the master's level, do a thesis on something new you are interested in giving you a PHD work for a while.

 

[Jordy]

Start in high school, taking as many math courses as possible, then take undergraduate degree in mathematics, the specialize in branch of mathematics that interest you at the master's level, do a thesis on something new you are interested in giving you a PHD work for a while.

For anyone who wants to go down this route, be warned that a math major is more focused on doing proofs than it is on computation.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

For anyone who wants to go down this route, be warned that a math major is more focused on doing proofs than it is on computation.

See Peter Woit's Blog He is a mathematical physicist, a physicist first. So, you can do both Ed Witten, same thing

If you really want fun, follow monster moonshine seems to be at the intersection of physics and math.

 

[PinkPhilodendron]

It's just logic. You learn the rules and then it's all just like 2+2. How phantom said, you train logic by doing mathematical proofs and then at some point you just use math like a scalpel for dissecting the world as a surgeon would dissect a frog (just not as messy).

 

[Demon_Scientist_069420]

How do scientists do Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus and Quantum Mechanics? With characteristics of Dyscalculia I have, I just don't understand how scientists solve such profoundly complex equations.

I look at mathematics like a recipe.