[identity profile] erushi.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 01:51 pm (UTC)(link)
At this point, one feels obliged to qualify that the only reason why Calculus counts as a pleasure is because it is perhaps the only branch of Math wherein one doesn't die in.

[identity profile] ambientlight.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 01:56 pm (UTC)(link)
i am more surprised by your considering postmodern academic prose (http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/) a pleasure! interstitial matrices and discourses and fiddly jargon, oh my.

[identity profile] erushi.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
'tis the same reasoning, really. it's horrible going through it, but one gets this perverse pleasure from finishing it. pleasure enough to outweigh the pain, in my case.

yes, i do have masochistic tendencies. ._.

[identity profile] wao.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
clarification: Calculus is a pain in relation to more pleasant activities such as drawing, watching stupid videos, stroking cats etc.

But it's probably my favourite part of maths; I cannot stand statistics, oh no no no.
I also feel very happy and accomplished after solving most calculus problems (especially the "Show that ______ = _______" types since they give you the final answer to check).
Not with statistics questions where I keep wanting to break brittle innocent things; somehow they're really unfulfilling...

[identity profile] ambientlight.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 03:16 pm (UTC)(link)
ah, fair enough. i have a deep-seated grudge against calculus, but i definitely agree that problems where you have to prove something that's given to you are quite happifying.

i won't have to face statistics until next year, thankfully. >_.

[identity profile] feeshbowl.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
postmodern academic prose is only pleasurable when taught by a gregarious Greek professor. otherwise, it is blahhh disgusting. and when something does sorta-kinda click, it's rather satisfying. like solving an entire crossword puzzle.

similarly, small talk is only pleasurable when interesting people are involved.

[identity profile] ambientlight.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
getting taught postmodern academic prose is probably better than having to wade through pages of it.

and i tend to assume that interesting people will have interesting things to say, such that the conversation doesn't degenerate into small talk, but i suppose you have a point -- it's possible to make interesting small talk as well.