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-You see what low grades you made on your weekly mathematics test.
More than half of you failed.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SANJOY MAHAJAN: Does math seem dry, abstract, or remote from the world?
A hoops to jump through in school, a subject only a mother or a computer
could love?
It's not.
Doing math is like street fighting.
Solving problems is a duel with nature.
In a street fight, nobody cares whether your form is exact.
What matters is that you connect.
Because then you really get it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I'm Sanjoy Mahajan.
I'm associate professor of applied science and engineering
at Olin College and visiting associate professor at MIT.
I learned proper mathematics at Oxford and improper mathematics
at Cal Tech as a physics PhD student.
And now I promise to share with you the best of both.
I'll teach you how to shoot first and ask questions later.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
This philosophy is a theme of 6.SFMx, Street Fighting Math.
In this course, my co-instructor Ike Chuang and I
will show you the ways and the courage to guess answers
without a proof or an exact calculation.
You will learn to make seemingly magical mental calculations,
to debunk a common economics misconception,
to solve differential equations without using calculus,
and to estimate the fuel consumption of airplanes by dropping coffee filters.
Together we'll develop six reasoning tools
to span mathematics and its application to the world.
Whether you're a student, a practicing scientists or engineer,
or are simply curious, welcome.
You'll learn a new way to attack quantitative problems
and find that, like a party, math done right is messy, funny, and fun.
Take this course and you'll be dangerous.
[MUSIC PLAYING]