Proof You Can Do Hard Things 完整註解

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在學時期，面對無法理解的數學課，你或多或少都有過這個疑問：我學這個到底要幹嘛？
作者在這篇文中向我們解答：學習並不僅僅是為了應對特定的職業需求，而是為了鍛鍊克服困難的能力，建立強大的自我價值觀。

閱讀前你該知道的詞彙

calculus 微積分

proof (n.) 證據、證明
prove (v.)

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When a precocious yet nonconformist teenager asks

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學微積分要幹嘛？

When a precocious yet nonconformist teenager asks why they need to learn calculus, what should you say? 

You know they will never use it in adulthood, outside of certain career choices.

當一位早熟 (precocious) 卻不願隨波逐流 (nonconformist) 的青少年問為什麼要學微積分時，你應該怎麼說呢？
你知道他們在成年後很可能不會使用它，除了某些職業以外。

You could say, “It’ll help you get into college,” but then they’re left wondering why college cares if you know calculus. And once they’re in college, maybe you could say, “To get a good job,” but why would a potential hirer care how you did in multivariate calculus if your job doesn’t require any knowledge of calculus? 

I was one of these annoying students. I had the capacity to do well in school but never cared to because I never heard a good answer to this line of questioning. I never understood the point of truly learning the material in hard classes that you’re never going to use in the real world, and I assumed I could goof off and do the bare minimum and get away with it.

你可以說：「這將幫助你進入大學」，但他們就會好奇為什麼大學會在意你是否懂微積分。他們上大學後，或許你可以說：「為了找到好工作」，但如果他們的工作不需要微積分的知識，為什麼未來的雇主會在乎他們會不會多變量微積分 (multivariate calculus) 呢？
我曾經也是這樣一個讓人討厭的學生。我有能力 (capacity) 在學校表現好，但從未努力去做，因為對於這個質疑，我沒有聽過一個令我滿意的回答。我從不理解在個很艱難的課中學習一些現實生活中不會用到的知識，意義在哪裡？而且我認為我可以隨便混日子 (goof off)，只做最低限度的要求 (bare minimum) 就能應付過關。