Why College Proofs Seem Impossible

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Why do so many students get crushed by proofs in college?

The problem is that they’re learning two really hard things at once.

I mean, imagine taking matrix algebra, and you’re learning all this brand new math while also having to write proofs about it?

I mean, that’s like learning Shakespeare while you’re still learning how to even write an essay.

It’s ridiculous, and this jump is simply too big for most students to make.

See, students need to master a topic at the concrete level first.

So for instance, they should master calculating eigenvalues and eigenvectors and performing operations on matrices before proving any properties about them.

Then when the proofs are introduced, they’re not trying to understand the math and work out the proofs at the same time.

They already know what these objects do.

And now they can focus on proving the why.

This teaser is distilled from the following post, if you want to dive deeper: The Necessity of Grinding Through Concrete Examples Before Jumping Up a Level of Abstraction .

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