When Am I Ever Gonna Use That?
I know you've said it. We all have.
"When am I ever gonna use the Pythagorean theorem?"
"When am I ever gonna use trigonometry?"
"When am I ever gonna use radical simplification?"
I only mention math questions because most of my pedagogic energy is spent teaching math. However, "When am I ever gonna use that?" comes up in all arenas.
My answer to that: you won't. With that attitude, there's no way.
Do you think Steve Jobs asked, "When am I ever gonna need all my songs in one place?"?
Do you think Albert Einstein asked, "When am I ever gonna care about flying bodies in space?"?
(Fun fact, the theory of relativity is what allows you to use the gps on your phone.)
Do you think J.K. Rowling asked, "When am I ever gonna use Latin?"
Do you think Satoru Iwata asked, "When am I ever gonna use programming?"
Do you think Wolfgang Mozart asked, "When am I ever gonna use music theory?"
Do you think Pablo Picasso asked, "When am I ever gonna use oil paint?"
Maybe they did; maybe they didn't. I guess we'll never really know.
Let's start mild. For whatever random reason, I liked origami as a kid. It was simple and pretty, and it only required paper; it stuck with me. Mostly, I use it to pass the time or calm my mind, but I have used it to send notes, decorate, brighten peoples days, and teach kids among other things. I actually have this really fancy marketing idea that I'm not gonna share because I think it has real merit. Regardless of your skepticism, origami is pretty. If you reject prettiness with "when am I ever," then I feel sorry for you. Origami is not the only hobby that is pretty, but I think you get the idea.
Back in high school, I would get ultra bored in most of my classes, so I started reading through my TI-83 book. I learned almost everything about that machine. I have learned how to program on it, and I've learned how to compute way too many things. I've used my calculator for practical stuff (bills and what have you), teaching other students (obviously), playing games (if you ever played Knights and Dragons, I played it better), and even assisting my craftsman brother on occasion (it seems that, when you're building things, these obnoxious things called angles come up a lot). As much as he likes to deny it though, he's actually a good mathematician; sometimes he just wants to be doubly sure about an angle or a cut.
I played with Legos as I was growing up. Not too many people have prejudices against Legos, but stick with me: I developed the love of following directions and assembling things because of those foot-stabbing little toys. I don't know how you feel about it, but I know a couple people who utterly hate assembling furniture. I have known people that were driven to tears out of frustration. I have known people that – if they could have – would have paid someone to assemble furniture for them. I liked it. There were directions that, if followed, led to a result. That's like every man's dream.
I have Google drive. I need to keep my documents somewhere, and I don't think my computer is going to last much longer. Turns out, Google drive has a pretty comprehensive spreadsheet module. I dinked around with making formulas, having sheets refer to other sheets, and learning about all kinds of formatting. Big item numero uno: I made my own budget. Now, I don't have any money worth budgeting, but, if I did, it would be in unbelievable order. Besides that, I keep a very sharp record of my tutoring logs in a Google spreadsheet. Because of my thoroughness, I have saved myself a couple hundred dollars in what would have been documentation errors. I track my gas mileage (23.34 miles on average). I track average utility bills. I track things.
Plenty of people dabble in Photoshop. As I previously stated, my computer is dying. If I tried to use Photoshop, it would implode. Instead, I dabble with Preview – yes, the glorious document viewer known as Preview. I've made some silly pictures with it. I've designed a few pamphlets, fliers, etc. The most practical thing that might interest you: I've filled out forms with it. Often, we are sent forms and directed to print (ink is so bloody expensive), complete (my handwriting is possibly the worst), scan (or fax!), and send. I skip that drama. I open up documents in Preview (after I've converted them from pdf to png), and I use Google drive to generate text that I copy and paste to all the different places. I can even apply my signature to documents (that's a secret though).
I could ramble on about so many other things.
I'm not saying I know all the things. I'm just saying that – perhaps because I was too stupid to ask "When am I ever gonna use this?" – I found so many ways to use a lot of arbitrary skills.
Instead of asking "when am I ever," give "How can I?" a try.
How can I use math?
How can I use guacamole?
How can I use board games?
How can I use volley ball?
How can I use Viking metal?
How can I use Spanish?
How can I use TV shows?
I think curiosity will be much more edifying than apprehension.
"When am I ever gonna use the Pythagorean theorem?"
"When am I ever gonna use trigonometry?"
"When am I ever gonna use radical simplification?"
I only mention math questions because most of my pedagogic energy is spent teaching math. However, "When am I ever gonna use that?" comes up in all arenas.
My answer to that: you won't. With that attitude, there's no way.
Do you think Steve Jobs asked, "When am I ever gonna need all my songs in one place?"?
Do you think Albert Einstein asked, "When am I ever gonna care about flying bodies in space?"?
(Fun fact, the theory of relativity is what allows you to use the gps on your phone.)
Do you think J.K. Rowling asked, "When am I ever gonna use Latin?"
Do you think Satoru Iwata asked, "When am I ever gonna use programming?"
Do you think Wolfgang Mozart asked, "When am I ever gonna use music theory?"
Do you think Pablo Picasso asked, "When am I ever gonna use oil paint?"
Maybe they did; maybe they didn't. I guess we'll never really know.
Let's start mild. For whatever random reason, I liked origami as a kid. It was simple and pretty, and it only required paper; it stuck with me. Mostly, I use it to pass the time or calm my mind, but I have used it to send notes, decorate, brighten peoples days, and teach kids among other things. I actually have this really fancy marketing idea that I'm not gonna share because I think it has real merit. Regardless of your skepticism, origami is pretty. If you reject prettiness with "when am I ever," then I feel sorry for you. Origami is not the only hobby that is pretty, but I think you get the idea.
Back in high school, I would get ultra bored in most of my classes, so I started reading through my TI-83 book. I learned almost everything about that machine. I have learned how to program on it, and I've learned how to compute way too many things. I've used my calculator for practical stuff (bills and what have you), teaching other students (obviously), playing games (if you ever played Knights and Dragons, I played it better), and even assisting my craftsman brother on occasion (it seems that, when you're building things, these obnoxious things called angles come up a lot). As much as he likes to deny it though, he's actually a good mathematician; sometimes he just wants to be doubly sure about an angle or a cut.
I played with Legos as I was growing up. Not too many people have prejudices against Legos, but stick with me: I developed the love of following directions and assembling things because of those foot-stabbing little toys. I don't know how you feel about it, but I know a couple people who utterly hate assembling furniture. I have known people that were driven to tears out of frustration. I have known people that – if they could have – would have paid someone to assemble furniture for them. I liked it. There were directions that, if followed, led to a result. That's like every man's dream.
I have Google drive. I need to keep my documents somewhere, and I don't think my computer is going to last much longer. Turns out, Google drive has a pretty comprehensive spreadsheet module. I dinked around with making formulas, having sheets refer to other sheets, and learning about all kinds of formatting. Big item numero uno: I made my own budget. Now, I don't have any money worth budgeting, but, if I did, it would be in unbelievable order. Besides that, I keep a very sharp record of my tutoring logs in a Google spreadsheet. Because of my thoroughness, I have saved myself a couple hundred dollars in what would have been documentation errors. I track my gas mileage (23.34 miles on average). I track average utility bills. I track things.
Plenty of people dabble in Photoshop. As I previously stated, my computer is dying. If I tried to use Photoshop, it would implode. Instead, I dabble with Preview – yes, the glorious document viewer known as Preview. I've made some silly pictures with it. I've designed a few pamphlets, fliers, etc. The most practical thing that might interest you: I've filled out forms with it. Often, we are sent forms and directed to print (ink is so bloody expensive), complete (my handwriting is possibly the worst), scan (or fax!), and send. I skip that drama. I open up documents in Preview (after I've converted them from pdf to png), and I use Google drive to generate text that I copy and paste to all the different places. I can even apply my signature to documents (that's a secret though).
I could ramble on about so many other things.
I'm not saying I know all the things. I'm just saying that – perhaps because I was too stupid to ask "When am I ever gonna use this?" – I found so many ways to use a lot of arbitrary skills.
Instead of asking "when am I ever," give "How can I?" a try.
How can I use math?
How can I use guacamole?
How can I use board games?
How can I use volley ball?
How can I use Viking metal?
How can I use Spanish?
How can I use TV shows?
I think curiosity will be much more edifying than apprehension.
Comments
Post a Comment