A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Paperback)

Whether you are a student struggling to fulfill a math or science requirement, or you are embarking on a career change that requires a higher level of math competency, A Mind for Numbers offers the tools you need to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field. Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. She flunked her way through high school math and science courses, before enlisting in the army immediately after graduation. When she saw how her lack of mathematical and technical savvy severely limited her options—both to rise in the military and to explore other careers—she returned to school with a newfound determination to re-tool her brain to master the very subjects that had given her so much trouble throughout her entire life.
 
In A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Oakley lets us in on the secrets to effectively learning math and science—secrets that even dedicated and successful students wish they’d known earlier. Contrary to popular belief, math requires creative, as well as analytical, thinking. Most people think that there’s only one way to do a problem, when in actuality, there are often a number of different solutions—you just need the creativity to see them. For example, there are more than three hundred different known proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. In short, studying a problem in a laser-focused way until you reach a solution is not an effective way to learn math. Rather, it involves taking the time to step away from a problem and allow the more relaxed and creative part of the brain to take over. A Mind for Numbers shows us that we all have what it takes to excel in math, and learning it is not as painful as some might think!

無論你是一個努力滿足數學或科學要求的學生，還是正在進行需要更高水平數學能力的職業轉變，《數字思維》提供了你所需的工具，以更好地掌握這個令人生畏但無法逃避的領域。工程學教授芭芭拉·奧克利（Barbara Oakley）深知在數學上的困難。她在高中數學和科學課程中一路不及格，畢業後立即入伍。當她看到自己缺乏數學和技術能力嚴重限制了她的選擇時，無論是在軍隊中晉升還是探索其他職業，她帶著新的決心回到學校，重新調整大腦，掌握她一生中一直困擾著她的科目。

在《數字思維》中，奧克利博士告訴我們有效學習數學和科學的秘訣，這些秘訣即使是專心且成功的學生也希望早點知道。與普遍觀念相反，數學需要創造性思維和分析性思維。大多數人認為解決問題只有一種方法，實際上，通常有多種不同的解決方案，只需要創造力去發現。例如，已知有超過三百種不同的勾股定理證明。簡而言之，專注地研究一個問題直到找到解決方案並不是學習數學的有效方法。相反，它需要花時間遠離問題，讓大腦更放鬆和有創造力的部分接管。《數字思維》向我們展示，我們都有能力在數學上取得優異成績，而學習它並不像一些人想象的那麼痛苦！