#online math learning resources

[rankmymaths]

Website: https://www.rankmymaths.co.uk/

Rank My Maths specializes in comprehensive online math support for students of all ages, with a key focus on 11plus, KS2 SATs, GCSE, A Level Maths, and A Level Further Maths. Offering a range of services including mock tests, revision courses, and personalized tuition, the platform caters to diverse learning needs. Their approach combines problem-solving, non-verbal reasoning, and exam support, ensuring students are well-prepared for their academic challenges.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rankmymaths/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rankmymaths

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mathsrank

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[dreamdolldeveloper]

back to basics

mostly free resources to help you learn the basics that i've gathered for myself so far that i think are cool

everyday

gcfglobal - about the internet, online safety and for kids, life skills like applying for jobs, career planning, resume writing, online learning, today's skills like 3d printing, photoshop, smartphone basics, microsoft office apps, and mac friendly. they have core skills like reading, math, science, language learning - some topics are sparse so hopefully they keep adding things on. great site to start off on learning.

handsonbanking - learn about finances. after highschool, credit, banking, investing, money management, debt, goal setting, loans, cars, small businesses, military, insurance, retirement, etc.

bbc - learning for all ages. primary to adult. arts, history, science, math, reading, english, french, all the way to functional and vocational skills for adults as well, great site!

education.ket - workplace essential skills

general education

mathsgenie - GCSE revision, grade 1-9, math stages 1-14, provides more resources! completely free.

khan academy - pre-k to college, life skills, test prep (sats, mcat, etc), get ready courses, AP, partner courses like NASA, etc. so much more!

aleks - k-12 + higher ed learning program. adapts to each student.

biology4kids - learn biology

cosmos4kids - learn astronomy basics

chem4kids - learn chemistry

physics4kids - learn physics

numbernut - math basics (arithmetic, fractions and decimals, roots and exponents, prealgebra)

education.ket - primary to adult. includes highschool equivalent test prep, the core skills. they have a free resource library and they sell workbooks. they have one on work-life essentials (high demand career sectors + soft skills)

youtube channels

the organic chemistry tutor

khanacademy

crashcourse

tabletclassmath

2minmaths

kevinmathscience

professor leonard

greenemath

mathantics

3blue1brown

literacy

readworks - reading comprehension, build background knowledge, grow your vocabulary, strengthen strategic reading

chompchomp - grammar knowledge

tutors

not the "free resource" part of this post but sometimes we forget we can be tutored especially as an adult. just because we don't have formal education does not mean we can't get 1:1 teaching! please do you research and don't be afraid to try out different tutors. and remember you're not dumb just because someone's teaching style doesn't match up with your learning style.

cambridge coaching - medical school, mba and business, law school, graduate, college academics, high school and college process, middle school and high school admissions

preply - language tutoring. affordable!

revolutionprep - math, science, english, history, computer science (ap, html/css, java, python c++), foreign languages (german, korean, french, italian, spanish, japanese, chinese, esl)

varsity tutors - k-5 subjects, ap, test prep, languages, math, science & engineering, coding, homeschool, college essays, essay editing, etc

chegg - biology, business, engineering/computer science, math, homework help, textbook support, rent and buying books

learn to be - k-12 subjects

for languages

lingq - app. created by steve kaufmann, a polygot (fluent in 20+ languages) an amazing language learning platform that compiles content in 20+ languages like podcasts, graded readers, story times, vlogs, radio, books, the feature to put in your own books! immersion, comprehensible input.

flexiclasses - option to study abroad, resources to learn, mandarin, cantonese, japanese, vietnamese, korean, italian, russian, taiwanese hokkien, shanghainese.

fluentin3months - bootcamp, consultation available, languages: spanish, french, korean, german, chinese, japanese, russian, italian.

fluenz - spanish immersion both online and in person - intensive.

pimsleur - not tutoring** online learning using apps and their method. up to 50 languages, free trial available.

incase time has passed since i last posted this, check on the original post (not the reblogs) to see if i updated link or added new resources. i think i want to add laguage resources at some point too but until then, happy learning!!

[honeytonedhottie]

beauty and brains⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🎀☕️

in this post we'll talk about how to implement continual learning into ur life and how to nurture ur intellect and ur beauty, like elle woods for example…💬🎀

MINDSET ;

first off lets take a look at ur mindset. you need to be willing to learn and if ur stubborn then ur not gonna allow urself to learn and become smarter so for that reason mindset is the perfect place to start when ur starting ur beauty and brains journey.

perspective is EVERYTHING when it comes to learning. if u have the belief that "i hate math so much, im so not good at it etc etc" you're already setting urself up for failure. remember that we are in charge of our own learning.

figure out the sources of ur limiting beliefs about urself and challenge them. ask urself "why do i think im bad at math (or any other subject)" and the answers that u give urself, CHALLENGE them.

UNDERSTAND THAT ;

before we go any further understand that no subject is too complicated to learn and if ur experiencing that then ur learning it the wrong way…💬🎀

if ur having a hard time understanding a subject in school because of the way ur teacher explains it, ask another teacher at ur school and if that doesn't work turn to online resources OR just ask chat gpt. i ask chat gpt to help me break down math problems and explain how to do them and it works rly good for me.

READING ;

from my own experience i feel like reading is so so important. bcuz reading helps u to expand ur vocabulary and improves comprehension and so much more. personally i love to read so this isnt hard for me to do but if u originally dont like to read here are some ways to romanticize reading.

♡ start with topics/genres that u love

♡ set small goals (like reading for 5-10 minutes a day) and then building upon those goals

♡ experiment with physical books, e-books etc to figure out what u like best

WHAT U WATCH ;

i watch a lot of discussion based youtube videos, and video essays, documentaries etc and i have learned so much from them and they're actually one of my favorite ways to learn things. so i highly recommend watching some. watching things like this is so important because they provide a deeper understanding of real-world issues, cultures, and events that we might not encounter in our daily lives.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND ;

understanding what u read and what u learn is so so important. the way i make sure that i understand what im learning is through writing papers. writing papers about things that interest me or things that i learn has helped me to retain what i learn instead of forgetting it all.

another key thing to remember is PRACTICE. if u dont practice what u learn you'll literally forget it. use everything that u learn and if u can't physically use it, imagine urself using it.

MAKE IT A GAME ;

this is where the beauty aspect of the phrase "beauty and brains" comes into play. make learning like a GAME. i think thats how u get smart the best. just implement it into ur daily life.

for example if u have a habit of watching an episode of ur favorite show a day (or multiple) between episodes read for x amount of time. if u go for a run everyday listen to an audio book whilst running. think of that scene in the movie legally blonde where elle was reading her textbook while working out.

[smartgirrl]

math study techniques

i’m going to break down some of the most effective ways to study math. this subject definitely can feel overwhelming, but with the right strategies, you can build confidence and success.

this is how i got consistent As on my tests!

mistakes are valuable

go over your mistakes and learn from them – don't move on without fully understanding why something went wrong.

keep an error log – reviewing common errors helps you avoid them in the future.

ngl, sometimes i get disappointed when i don't make mistakes cuz then i don't have a reference point for studying 😭

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use visual aids

in geometry or algebra, draw diagrams to visualize the problems.

i am a heavy visual learner so if I can, I will draw out every graph and shape.

here is a simple example of visual notes in math that i took a while ago

use graphing tools to understand functions or inequalities in a tangible way.

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practice is key

math requires consistent practice – work through as many problems as you can, varying difficulty levels as you go.

don't rush – make sure you truly understand each problem before moving on.

time yourself during practice to build speed and accuracy for exams.

so important for testing! the tests i do best on i spend around 1-2 minutes per question, leaving me with almost an hour usually to review my work.

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use online resources

platforms like Khan Academy or other math-focused sites can be super helpful for understanding difficult concepts.

personally i use resources like ChatGPT to give me extra problems that i can do before an exam

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understand, don't memorize

break down formulas – know why and how formulas work to better apply them in different contexts.

if you're in more advanced math, try 'rediscovering' the formula

concepts over shortcuts – shortcuts can help, but deeper understanding will ensure long-term success.

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ask for help when needed

study groups or tutors can provide new perspectives on tough problems.

don’t hesitate to ask your teacher for help if you’re stuck

trust me, teachers love questions. my teacher practically begs for them so don't be too afraid. spam office hours if you need to.

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thank you for taking the time to read this. if you have any topics that you want me to cover, let me know!!

[pinkacademiaprincess]

Hiii I’m so sorry to bother you!, hope your day goes well <3 I just want to ask, how can I improve in maths? I’m preparing myself for the sat and I have trouble with understanding it. Any tips would be very much appreciated, thanku !! ♡

Become a Math Whiz: Acing Math Class & the SAT 📈✏️📚👩‍🏫

ty for the ask & the kind words! you are never a bother, i'm happy to help 🥰 i can def give some tips as someone who went from struggling w/ math to being good at it. and i’ve taken the SAT so i know that experience as well! i hope this helps 💗

take accountability

it’s very easy to try to shift blame & avoid taking responsibility for your grades/ performance. i used to think things like “the teacher is just bad!” or “i’m just not a math person!” but this mindset is just deflecting. some things are out of your control, like what teacher you have or preferring other subjects, but you have to step up & work hard to create your own success! remembering this will help you stay motivated and disciplined.

find your learning style

i talked about this in a previous post too, but there are different styles of learning - visual, auditory, hands-on, & reading/writing - and not all of them work for everyone. if you spend a ton of time studying and don’t see improvement or results, that’s a big sign that you’re studying wrong. a method that works for your friend or that your teacher uses might not actually be effective for you. so do some research into learning styles and study methods, and find implement strategies that work for you.

never fall behind

okay, easier said than done. but one of the biggest reasons i used to struggle is math is that i would get stuck on a concept, never fully master it, and then i’d stay behind. in math, a lot of topics build on each other. if you get stuck on a topic, it’s crucial that you figure it out asap or your confusion will snowball. you can’t build a solid structure on top of a wobbly foundation. the moment you encounter a problem area, study it until you’ve completely understood.

practice makes perfect

i try to steer clear of recommending specific study methods b/c everyone has different learning styles. but math is so dependent on problem solving & applications that you really have to master this skill in order to succeed. beyond just reviewing your notes & reading over concepts, you need to practice applying topics by solving problems. do the homework questions & do them for accuracy, even if it’s just graded for completion. find extra problems in the textbook, workbook, online, etc. redo questions from class or the hw that confused you until you can do them correctly without your notes. drill it until you can solve them AND understand how the steps work!

ask for help

i am clearly a big proponent of asking for help. in school, your teachers are gonna be one of the best resources you have. for one, they’re teachers for a reason, so even if you think they’re not too great at explaining stuff, they know the concepts. and besides that, your teachers the ones who are creating units, assigning your work, writing & grading your tests... they should be your go-to for questions. visit them during office hours or email to set up a meeting where you can discuss concepts. ask for extra practice problems, ask them to look over your work & let you know how it looks, talk through your work with them. aside from teachers, you can get help from a tutor, a classmate, whoever you can turn to. but pls don’t suffer alone! succeeding with help is still succeeding.

use the internet

so maybe your teacher truly sucks at explaining. maybe you don’t have classmates to help and can’t afford a tutor. or maybe you just wanna supplement your learning another way. i really really recommend utilizing free learning tools online!! khan academy is an obvious one for videos, practice problems, and more. you can also find tons of youtube videos explaining math topics. sometimes it helps to hear things explained another way. i also google “[math concept] practice problems” if i want extra questions to work through.

bonus: tips for SAT math

the SAT is a bit different b/c the math concepts aren’t actually too advanced. it’s all multiple choice so you don’t get to rely on partial points for showing your work. the SAT is testing your strategy & speed as much as it’s actually testing you on math concepts, so here are my best tips for that specifically:

use khan academy’s SAT prep tool - it’s free (!!!!!) and it links to your collegeboard account. it uses prior years’ SAT content so it’s very similar to the test itself. it helps you pace yourself, pinpoint your problem areas, learn & apply concepts, & track your progress. here's a screenshot from when i used it, as you can see my scores improved and i was able to ultimately get a superscore of 1450!

take practice tests - this helps you get familiar with the time constraint. khan academy has plenty!!

do a ton of SAT math practice questions - ideally, find a ton of questions used in prior SAT tests and just crank them out. the test's concepts are quite repetitive so if you just focus on the topics they usually test, you can master them

learn test-taking strategies - the SAT is multiple choice and has a tricky time constraint, so however you can save time will help. become good at using the process of elimination & other multiple choice test methods. you can find these sorts of tips online!

i hope this helps! know that you are completely capable of improving at math. i went from thinking i suck at it & doing poorly in math class to acing my calc courses & studying to enter a math-focused field. utilize your resources and figure out your best study style asap, and you WILL see improvements!

[oftlunarialmoon]

Online Games for Age Regression - Free to Play Internet Games for Agere on a Budget

Ciao lovelies! Today’s blog post topic was requested by Bee via our request form! I am working my way through the others, thank you all for your suggestions so far! Today I’ll be sharing a collection of links I’ve found to online games you can play for free! A lot of age regressors are out here on a budget after all, and not all of us can afford to buy new games all the time. But playing our same old games can be boring after a while. Luckily with the ideas below, you can have plenty of free online games to try the next time you are small and bored! Alright, let’s dive into this list!

I want to begin the list with Educational Game sites. These will have a learning component in the games, as they’re intended to help teach kiddos cool new facts about the world! On this section we have:

Educational Games:

Cool Math Games https://www.coolmathgames.com/

USA Mint (currency) Learning Games https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids/games

Math Playground https://www.mathplayground.com/

NASA Kids Club https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-kids-club/

National Geographic Kids https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/games

Animal Jam https://www.animaljam.com/en

ABCya! Learning Games https://www.abcya.com/

The next section I’ll go into are game sites based on tv, like shows or networks specifically.

Television Games:

Nick Jr https://www.nickjr.com/games

Nickelodeon https://www.nick.com/games

Disney https://disneynow.com/all-games

PBS https://pbskids.org/games

Cartoon Network https://www.cartoonnetworkhq.com/games

Boomerang TV https://www.boomerangtv.co.uk/games

Sesame Street https://www.sesamestreet.org/games

This next section is my favorite, and I’m sure tons of you will realize exactly why, and maybe you’ll have similar nostalgic memories. But let me lay out the scene here. Picture this, you’re in your room/computer room and it's friday night, you’ve just had pizza for dinner, Rihanna is playing on the radio and you’re about to do your favorite activity- dress up games! So nostalgic…

Dress Up Game Sites:

Doll Divine https://www.dolldivine.com/

Azaelea’s Dolls https://www.azaleasdolls.com/

Girls Go Games https://www.girlsgogames.com/

Picrew https://picrew.me/

Pastel Katto https://pastelkattogames.com/

Girl Games https://www.girlgames.com/

Dress Up Games https://www.dressupgames.com/

Meiker https://meiker.io/

eGirl Games https://www.egirlgames.net/

Dress Up https://www.dressup.com/

Lastly, here’s some more online games that I couldn’t figure out a special category for:

Unsorted:

Webkinz https://www.webkinz.com/

Chess Kid https://www.chesskid.com/

Poptropica https://www.poptropica.com/haxe/play/

Kidpix https://kidpix.app/

Webkinz Guide https://webkinzguide.com/wiki/Main_Page

Sanrio Daily https://www.sanrio.co.jp/dailyapps/

CBC Kids https://www.cbc.ca/kids/games

Landing https://app.landing.space/@kasaimoonfox

Wordle https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

I hope you found some new games today! Thank you again to Bee for suggesting this idea!

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Thanks again for reading, please remember to stay awesome and love yourself!

[lil-tachyon]

For the last couple weeks I've been drawing logos / designs for local-ish (mostly NJ, some PA and NY) bands as warmups in the morning. Here's what I've come up with! Massive post below the break explaining each logo + where to find each band and listen to their music.

Teenage Halloween- a staple of New Jersey basements for probably about a decade now and finally getting wider recognition in the last couple years. Pop punk / power pop with a killer horn section. First time I saw them was in New Brunswick playing with Walter Etc. and Blowout. They played a killer cover "Build Me Up Buttercup" and my wife got a black eye in the pit. Recommended tracks: "Brain Song," "666," "Clarity." Their first EP is on a separate bandcamp page btw, check it out here it's great.

Sweet Pill - They will call themselves a Philly band but in my heart they'll always be from Glassboro. Definitely one of the more recognizable names on this list. Emo revival - early stuff is more twinkly, more recent stuff is heavier. All of it's great. Recommended tracks "Nephew," "High Hopes."

Shark Club - Central Jersey's finest. I'm very biased because I actually know these dudes and they did the music for my wedding. Some of the best pop punk you'll hear and the nicest people you'll meet. Recommended tracks: "Game Theory," "Bill Murray," "Heavens to Betsy."

Rest Ashore - My favorite band for the last (oh God I'm old now) eight years. From gut-wrenching emo ballads to virtuoso math-rock instrumentals they do it all. One time I got to sing vocals on "Lucy's Theme" at a house show- thank you Erica! Recommended tracks: "Hjarta," "Chinese Opera," "Devotion," "Soyuz Sweetheart." Too many bangers to name honestly, just deep dive their discography.

Morus Alba - First band I ever went to see at a house show and still one of my absolute favorites. Their music feels like the bridge between the best pitchfork, /mu/ alt rock bands and high energy basement emo. I mean that as a compliment and I hope it comes off as one lol. I should note that since 2019 Morus Alba has morphed from a band into an experimental hip-hop project so later releases sound radically different and basically disconnected from the earlier stuff. Also my favorite release from them, Live at Isabelle's, has been scrubbed from the internet but if you'd like the files just email me. Recommended tracks: "Skyscraper," "Human Resources," "The Goodnight Waltz."

Have a Good Season - another Jersey mainstay that's still going strong. Emo revival in their earlier releases, now with more 70s power pop influences in their newer stuff. See them live, they put on a fantastic show and usually play some great covers in addition to their original music. HaGS guys if you're reading this, please put your version of "Since You've Been Gone" online, I'm begging you. Recommended tracks: "Joseph / Shel Silverstein," (you have to listen to them together for the drop, so good) , "Gum, "Gleaux / Scab." Also, frontman Nic Palermo interviewed me once.

Elephant Jake - If you see any of these bands live make it EJ, they put on such a damn good show. Electrifying indie punk from the Empire State. Recommended tracks: "F.D.C." "Sarah Moyer," "Goodness to Honest," and of course you gotta learn "Sebastien Bauer" for the singalongs.

Blind Lion - Sadly one of the greats that we lost along the way. Defunct since about 2017. I only got to see them once but it was a great performance. Alongside their own stuff they played some killer covers of "Bad Moon Rising" and "Moonage Daydream." I had trouble doing a logo design for them because I actually really like the composition, if not the "Ed Hardy-ness," of their existing logo so what you see here are two separate attempts, neither of which feels entirely satisfying to me. Frontperson Larry Flately currently plays in Nematode and also handled production of Bradley Gardens joke hiphop group The Breakfast Boiz under the moniker "DJ Ova EZ." Recommended tracks: "Brumous," "Dinner."

Fighting Seasons - A band that I sadly found out about too late (via a sticker under the bridge in my town which has since been painted over). 2010s pop punk that packs a helluva punch, especially considering that I'm pretty sure the members were high schoolers for most of the band's existence. I think some members may have gone on to form Sawce (FFO Chon, Polyphia, that type of music) but I can't remember where I read/heard that so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Recommended tracks: "Fighting Seasons," "Oil on Canvas"

Milkmen- Another fallen giant, officially disbanded in 2019. Like Morus Alba, they played the very first house show I attended and their few releases remain on constant rotation in my home. Used to put on a great show and were one of the bands I always thought would make it big until suddenly they weren't around anymore. Frontman Ben Thieberger contributed guitar and vocals to Covid quarantine project Kin if you're looking for a bit of an extra fix but beyond that I don't know what these guys are up to these days, sadly. Recommended tracks: "Ramus," "Johnny Dangerously," "how sieves catch breeze," "K.O.T.H."

Stand and Wave - New York (now Philly) pop punkers delivering instant dopamine hits with every track. Another great live act, see them with EJ if you can! They often play shows together. Recommended tracks: "Convos," "Mrs. Dash," "Splashton Kutcher," "Michael Collins."

My Chemical Romance - You know who they are. While I was drawing all these other logos I ran a poll on Patreon to decide which famous New Jersey band should also be graced with a drawing from me. MCR won the poll by a hefty margin so unfortunately you won't get to see me do an illegible black metal take on Hoboken's Yo La Tengo. I ended up doing two versions: the one with the halo is the first, the one with the bats was the second. I tried to do something kind of thin and elegant with the first one and I don't think it's terrible but I also wasn't quite satisfied with it. For the 2nd attempt I tried to lean into the kind of pulpy, almost horror punk aesthetic of early MCR and I think that one looks better even if it's less original.

Anyway if you took the time to read through all this, thank you very much! And please support these bands! Also If any of the links aren't working please let me know.

-Logan

[cyberstudious]

Free Resources for Learning Cybersecurity

I created this post for the Studyblr Masterpost Jam, check out the tag for more cool masterposts from folks in the studyblr community!

Free Online Courses

Linux Foundation Cybersecurity Courses - many of their beginner/introductory courses are free

Professor Messer's Security+ Course - a great intro to cybersecurity, gave me the skills to pass my Security+ exam

Khan Academy Cryptography - solid foundations for understanding the math behind encryption

ISC2's new entry level cert & training CC is free, although for a limited time

Linux Journey - learn Linux, the command line, and basic networking

Free CTFs & Ways to Practice

What is a CTF? - HackTheBox isn't a free platform, but this is a good article explaining what a CTF is and how to approach it

OverTheWire Bandit - practice your Linux skills

PicoCTF - this one already ran this year but their website has plenty of resources

Microcorruption - binary exploitation challenges

Hacker101 - web security CTF

Cryptopals Cryptography Challenges

Nightmare - binary exploitation & reverse engineering challenges

Cybersecurity News: follow what's happening in the industry

KrebsOnSecurity - security & cybercrime news, investigative journalism

SANS StormCast - daily 5-minute security news podcast

SANS Internet Storm Center - security blog posts

Cisco Talos blog - security news, threat intelligence & malware investigations

Schneier on Security - security & society

Black Hills Information Security webcasts

Darknet Diaries podcast

Other Free Resources

Trail of Bits's CTF Field Guide

PicoCTF Resources and Practice

SANS Cheat Sheets - all areas of security & tech

OWASP Cheat Sheets - application security & web attacks

LaurieWired's YouTube channel - high-quality videos on low-level tech

LiveOverflow's YouTube channel - binary exploitation

SANS Webinars

Cybersecurity Certifications Roadmap

Cybersecurity Job Supply and Demand Map (for the U.S.)

EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense - guides for how to protect yourself online

Don't Forget the Library!

If you have access to a public or school library, check out their technical books and see what they have to offer. O'Reilly and No Starch Press are my favorite publishers for technical and cybersecurity books, but be on the lookout for study guides for the Security+ and other certifications - these will give you a good introduction to the basics. I wrote more about cybersecurity books in yesterday's masterpost.

[nothorses]

So have you ever like. Talked to people that were homeschooled? Or did you just read one story online about a cult homeschooling their kids and went "fuck this is awful public school is so much better"?

I was homeschooled until 5th grade and then sent to public school. I lasted until 7th grade before I had to fucking beg my parents to homeschool me again. I was literally waking up for school in the mornings and immediately having a mental breakdown. I was constantly trying to fake being sick so I didn't have to go.

Homeschooling was SO much fucking better. I didn't have to sleep in jeans and a bra and t-shirt so that I was already dressed when I woke up, just so I had time to eat a small bowl of cereal before being forced to leave.

I didn't have to worry about classmates making fun of me behind my back, or my "friends" insulting me or going out of their way to embarass me in front of my crushes.

I didn't have to worry about having a cold or the flu or my period and being forced to go to school and be miserable all day covered in blood and snot.

I didn't have to worry about being given lunch detention because I forgot one book (probably because I have memory issues from severe ADHD)

I didn't have to worry about being overwhelmed with homework. I didn't have to worry about my teachers or classmates making me feel like a fucking idiot because I couldn't do math (wow turns out I have a severe learning disability that somehow no one noticed).

I didn't have to worry about being forced to run the pacer test in gym and not being allowed to rest, resulting in me throwing up.

You can't tell people "omg just because YOU had a bad time in school doesn't mean you're allowed to dislike it!!! Not all public school is bad!"

and then turn around and go "Homeschooling is awful it's just a bunch of religious bigot cultists teaching their children how to be bigots and children never getting to go out and socialize with their peers!!!"

All I learned from public school was:

Keep my fucking mouth shut, do not speak unless spoken to

Don't do anything "weird" or "different" (AKA show signs of having autism)

If you don't stay in school and go to college (AKA put yourself in thousands of dollars of debt in exchange for a piece of paper that doesn't actually guarantee you a job) then you'll die in a ditch somewhere

Don't even bother trying to make friends, they'll just treat you like shit

I was never taught anything useful that I couldn't have just learned by myself at home. I was never taught how to pay bills or what a mortgage is or how to grow my own food or raise my own animals for meat or how credit cards work or how to take care of myself after my parents die.

Public school is there to terrorize children and destroy them mentally until they conform to what society wants, so that they become the perfect unquestioning unthinking cogs in the machine that will work until they die.

It's there to make money for colleges because kids are never taught about trade jobs or making their own businesses/companies, they're taught that college is the be all end all and if you don't go there (and give them your time and money) then you'll become homeless and die.

It doesn't teach you how to think for yourself, it teaches you to shut the fuck up and obey or be punished.

I'm sorry you had that experience with public school, genuinely- and I know you aren't the only one, and this is honestly something I feel really passionate about. Like, actually; a big motivator for getting my Master's in Ed- and likely my Ph.D in Ed after this- has been that it positions me to get involved in a way that I can make larger changes than most classroom teachers might be able to influence.

I'm also really glad that homeschool was a positive thing for you! And I don't believe in outlawing homeschool or anything either; I do think it needs more regulation and resources, and I think there needs to be a wider array of options overall, but like. Given how education has historically been weaponized against indigenous communities to carry out cultural genocide (in the form of boarding schools), I think any laws against homeschooling would just end up repeating that same history.

But like, you can't ignore that homeschool has absolutely been used as a tool of abuse, too. And you can't ignore that abusive families and home environments exist, and you can't just... refuse to acknowledge the push from the conservative right to de-regulate homeschooling & break down public ed in order to further empower them to isolate and brainwash kids.

Hell, you wanna talk about how kids are taught to stop thinking, stop talking, and follow orders? Take a little day trip to a fundamentalist homeschooling network sometime.

You talk about public ed like it's this homogeneously evil entity designed for, and only capable of, abusing kids. But you wanna know what?

My family is abusive! My upbringing was abusive!

And sure, there's a chance they may have been able to pay for private school or something if public school had not been an option- for a few years, anyway. But that's because my grandparents have money, and because my mom was just neglectful enough to want me out of her hair.

I went to three elementary schools, two middle schools, and four high schools. All of those were public schools. Some of them sucked more than others, but all of them offered me:

An escape from home that I needed so desperately that, for a long time, I extended by hiding out at the public library for an extra 3+ hours.

Reliable lunches, even when my mom wouldn't pay for them.

Adults that I could trust, and did trust.

Adult role models and examples of a better future, especially in the queer adults that taught me.

Social connections, one of which was with a current roommate and my best friend.

Directly applicable knowledge and skills: cooking, online research and internet safety, everything I know about safe sex, finances, how to do my taxes, basic governmental structure, local, national, and world history, basic court proceedings, how to navigate colleges/university, (some) critical literacy & critical thinking skills, social-emotional learning, (some) critical race theory...

An array of options for different paths into an adult career: understanding (some) options like trade schools, community college, university, and the military (gross), and why I might choose one of those options vs. going straight into work.

Examples of and exposure to different & diverse ways of being, from home lives, to cultures, to queerness, to experiences I would never have firsthand.

Like, I have definitely grown up in pretty progressive areas & school districts, and that's a big part of it (though the conservative-leaning school I went to was also the school where my creative writing teacher read us a short story that he wrote about some gay star-crossed truckers).

These schools exist, and these experiences exist, and it's silly to dismiss them out of hand because your one stint into public school once was a nightmare.

And it's worse to dismiss the resource that these places are to so many families & kids. It's free childcare, it's one sure meal every day, it's community, it's exposure to diversity.

The practical alternative to that, for a lot of poor families, is child labor.

You don't have to like public education. I certainly have mixed feelings on it, and understanding & addressing the deep-seated problems in it are, like, the cornerstone of my life's work at this point.

What you should do, imo, is learn to recognize when you might not have all the context and information you need to make a judgement call like "destroy public education forever", look around at the people saying what you're saying & why they might be saying it, and perhaps consider listening to the people who have already been doing the work you've assumed is impossible.

[cr0ftisprocrastinating]

do you have any recommendations for someone that absolutely loves academia, would love to be going to school to finish a degree, yet can’t for financial and other reasons? Most free classes online center around math/stem/coding. And it doesn’t much feel like studying without a class, discussion, papers, etc! What’s a girl to do?

I love this question! And also, feel for you. I personally worked and saved for five/six years in order to afford my masters!

However, this is not always an option, in which case some other ideas might be:

(possible costs involved) Depending on where you are in the world, check whatever university is local to you to see if they do weekend/short courses. Oxford's Continuing Education department, for example, run weekend/week-long courses on all *kinds* of things, and local institutions might also offer similar things!

If you do a short course somewhere and make friends, you could then see if people are up for a semi-regular study 'group', which might also help fill the need for scholarly debate!

Do you have a local library? Check out their resources. Even if they don't have formal study groups/things, you could always assign yourself times of the day/week to go and do some independent study. Not great maybe for the sociable aspect of your q, but definitely could fit the vibes!

Similarly, do you have a local archive? If you are looking for historical stuff to do, then see if your local archive runs groups. Lots of people are interested in tracking their ancestry and undertaking local history projects - you could be one of them! Also, they might need volunteers. This could be boring if not the thing you're looking for, but it might appeal (I love to file, personally)

Set yourself a project. What do you want to know more about, and then what is an interesting way to approach this? Do not be constrained by discipline, because you are not constrained by institution. Make a zine about a little-known environmental policy. Write a fiction book set in a specific period and try to get it as accurate as possible. Contact a small, local museum and see if they want to exhibit your genius portraits of town dogs or something.

Volunteer at a local gallery/museum. This may not be great at first for the scholarly aspect of things, but it might put you in contact with other people who love learning and want to do more of it.

Pretend you are going to *teach* on the thing you are interested in. Put together a reading list and a list of essay questions. How would you structure the course? What form would the exam take? What would the mark scheme be?

Take yourself on a little field trip once a month/term/year/however often you want. Go somewhere you haven't been before, but with a specific focus in mind. Something like: 'I am going to try and find out as much as possible about this place's collection of Greco-Roman statues.' 'I am going to go to this gallery and draw all the things I see that are yellow.' 'I am going to see how many different kinds of daisy there are in these famous daisy gardens.'

Idk if any of these are actually useful or if they veer into the impractical but I hope you find something even vaguely inspiring! Also, I would recommend keeping a record of any outings or things you try. The process of recording the things you do to further your own interests would make a fascinating project in itself!

[robotabc773]

math asks! 18, 19, 23, 40, 56, 59 (or ofc some subset, like you said)

18+19: Can you share a good math problem you’ve solved recently? How did you solve it?

I was recently several tangents down a research rabbit hole and discovered that CC: Tweaked (the modern fork of the minecraft mod ComputerCraft), instead of allowing its computers to simply know where they are in the world, instead has a built-in gps library that works on top of the rednet networking system which is itself built on top of the built-in support for wireless modems to communicate between computers. It works because sending messages via modem tells you the distance between the two communicating computers, so with a set of 4 computers that all know their own locations and are setup in the right configuration, any other computer can talk to them and trilaterate its position. Which then of course got me thinking about the amount of information you gain from knowing your distance to a particular number of fixed points and how that generalizes to multiple dimensions. I believe what we get is both our position as projected onto the space spanned by the fixed points as well as our distance to that space. I don't have an actual proof for this but I'd love to know if anyone has one or knows the name of this concept so that I can look one up!

23: Will P=NP? Why or why not?

Well for the sake of cryptography working I really hope that P≠NP because otherwise we're kinda screwed on that front. Intuitively it seems like that should be the case, like I'd expect that there should be some problems that are hard to solve even if they're easy to check.

40. What’s the silliest Mathematical mistake you’ve ever made?

I really wish I had a good story to tell here but I can't think of one sorry :c

56. Do you have a favorite sequence? Is it in the OEIS?

I often find myself with favorites in considerably less categories than I am asked about. This is one such case.

59. Can you recommend any online resources for math?

Ooh this is a little sideways from what I'd normally think of as just math (in the direction of CS of course), but I'd highly recommend The Natural Number Game, an interactive introduction to formalized proofs in Lean! If you enjoy it, Software Foundations is a great (and free!) series of textbooks to learn how to apply these techniques to the task of formalizing and proving properties of programming languages (using a similar but separate language called Coq)

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Hi there!

I hope you're doing well. 🙂

My random question is (because I think you've mentioned DND) : For someone wanting to start playing dnd, what advice would you give?

Thank you for asking! Always exciting to see somebody else getting into D&D. I haven’t played as much as others, but hopefully this will help get the ball rolling.

First rule everyone should know: No D&D is better than bad D&D

We’re all here to have fun, so if you're not having fun then you should stop

It doesn’t even have to be because you’re having a problem with a person at the table, it could just be the story everyone is telling is just not one you want to participate it

We have a limited time on this earth, don’t force yourself to do something you don’t really want to do

Next, don't do a paid campaign for your first game

There are a lot of paid campaigns online and while I'm not opposed to the idea, you're still learning and so shouldn't have to pay for a DM

If you don't have somebody to play with in person, check out your local gaming store to see if anybody is running a game, failing that, roll20 and D&D Beyond forums are a good place to start

Once you find a group, make sure to communicate any boundaries or triggers you have early

This is a role playing game and depending on the game, things can get intense, so make sure you're at a table that will respect those boundaries

After that, talk to the DM as much as possible

DMs want you to ask about the story they're trying to make, you're not bothering them with questions, I promise you

If you're having trouble figuring out a backstory, they're the best person to ask; and if they're being cagey about helping you, that's red flag

Also, try to get to know the other people at the table before game time

If you're playing with strangers, you should have a session zero allowing everybody to chat and get a feel for each other

These are the people you're going to be telling this story with, take the time to listen to them and ask about their characters

This is collaborative story telling, so communication and listening to each other is essential

I'd also recommend starting with a low level campaign (levels 1-3) to get a grasp of the rules

Staring with a martial character (barbarian, fighter, rogue, or monk), might also be best too as you don't have to keep track of spells

Of course, if a martial class isn't fun for you, disregard, I'm sure you can figure it out

I'd also say that at the minimum you should buy The Player's Handbook. The rest can come with time and necessity

D&D Beyond is also a really good resource when it comes to character sheets and creation

Also, remember that the game you're going to play isn't going to be like a live play or Baldur's Gate

You're a bunch of nerds playing make believe with more math; chances are a lot of it is going to be derivative, and that's okay

So long as you and everyone else at the table is having fun, that's all that matters

[jadecitrusmint]

hey! i’m thinking of switching my major to stats this upcoming semester. just had a few questions for you if you don’t mind!

is statistics really hard? how much time do you spend studying on the daily or weekly to maintain good grades? any tips on succeeding?

thank you !

Sorry for the delay in response!

Firstly, I’ll say it’s a hard degree, but I don’t think it’s not doable. The difficulty comes from the academic rigor- think of it like a math degree but with a focus on a specific discipline of math. If you’re naturally gifted at math it’ll be much easier for you, but if you’re like me, you’ll have to put in some effort. There’s also a component of creative thinking to a stats degree; my professor once told me that it’s not the actual mechanics that we struggle with learning, but the application of the mechanics to new problems that don’t have a stepwise process to complete. I think that’s where the real difficulty comes in with this degree for everyone. That being said, it forces you to think outside the box and with more critical analysis skills than you’ve ever done before, and I love it. I’ve grown so much not only as a student, but in my professional and even personal life because you learn to have an open mind and to think of multiple perspectives when approaching various issues. Many people in my major feel the same! The pain is totally worth it lol.

Studying can be hit or miss for me. My statistical coding courses don’t take me too long, I think the longest I’ve ever spent on a coding assignment was 4 hours and there’s not much studying involved with coding. If I study for these courses, it’s usually just practicing the code we learned in class to other problems. My math based stat courses definitely take more time, and for most people in my major as well. I’d usually spend somewhere between 10-15 hours on the weekly homework, 20-25 hours on take home exams, and I’d spend about an hour a week reviewing distributional results. Memorization helps with a stats degree, but a lot of your studying will be application based and doing practice problems.

My biggest tip for succeeding is do not get discouraged! This is a hard degree no doubt, and at times everyone feels incompetent and like they’re not good enough. You are certainly good enough, you just need to give yourself some grace and some space to grow. The difficulty also fosters a lot of camaraderie among the people in my major, so certainly reach out to the other stats students to not only feel supported but to support others!

My biggest practical studying tip is focus on applying concepts as opposed to memorizing concepts. Memorization helps with distributional results, but the real learning comes from completing the rigorous practice problems. Additionally, I would recommend taking a proofs writing math course at some point in time. It really helps when you get to upper level stat courses. I’d be happy to give you some resources if you feel like personally reaching out! My professors in the stats department believe in open access to education so most of our textbooks and our professors’ notes are free online for anyone to view :)

I believe in you if this is the path you choose! It will certainly be rewarding✨

[ameyauneedtostop]

If you're good at math:

1. Concept Integration:

Find sums which require in-depth knowledge of more than one mathematical concept to solve. A simple example would be using algebraic expressions as sides of a right angled triangle and finding hypotenuse using Pythagoras theorem and then finding the square root of the polynomial by factorization.

2. Proofs:

Practice writing and understanding mathematical proofs. This helps you develop logical reasoning skills and a deeper understanding of the foundational principles behind mathematical concepts. Very Very important even if it is excluded in the syllabus.

3. Explore Multiple Methods: A continuation of the previous tip; when you learn derivations, you can find short-cuts that work out for you. Or you can explore other methods of solving like graphing two simultaneous linear equations to solve, etc

4. Marry a whiteboard: Seriously, it's so much fun to solve questions on whiteboard. Also, Feynman technique (it's basic so not preaching)

5. Give Olympiads:

  Don’t shy away from tackling advanced topics or materials beyond your current coursework. Give Olympiads. They broaden your thinking capacity, and they're reallyyyyyy fun to prepapre for ✨

6. Develop Intuition:

 Work on developing mathematical intuition. This involves recognizing patterns, making educated guesses, and estimating solutions before rigorously solving problems. Cannot stress enough on this point. I got a guess correct. It was fill in the integer type questions and the probability of getting an answer right if picked at random was 1/100. Still, went with my gut instict and got it correct.

7. Use Online Resources:

Platforms like Khan Academy, MIT OpenCourseWare, and Coursera offer advanced math courses and lectures that can supplement your learning.

8. Follow me: most important tip 😉😁

[awideplace]

On the topic of homeschooling, I don't have any degree in teaching so how should I teach my future kids?

You do not need an education/teaching degree to teach. However, you do need to be prepared, not lazy, and enjoy learning yourself (and patient). For younger years, learn through play–go outside often, go to museums, make nature your textbook to teach and learn so much, read to them as often as you can, teach them to read, teach basic math while cooking, play with animals, travel, volunteer, etc. Learning is fun!

As you get into older ages, there are brick and mortar and online stores to find textbooks and learning resources. Have fun with it, explore, buy what looks interesting. I recommend Saxon Math for teaching math, personally. Find history books that aren't woke. Find science books that teach creationism. Teach your children cursive. It's important to have a solid foundation of Math and English, these are the building blocks of other subjects. Teach children to reason, to think through things, think critically.

There are also homeschooling co-ops or even charter schools you can look into as children get older. Get a tutor in certain subjects if need be.

[cadencedreaming]

Neurodiverse Relationships and Trust

I recently came across the statement that a Neurodivergent's “love language” is Trust. 

Now if you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what love languages are, it’s a system of how different people express love to the people in their lives.  The five identified “languages” are Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Acts of Service, and Receiving Gifts.  This is not a post about that, but there are plenty of resources online if you want to look it up. 

There’s been content circulating in recent times about ‘Neurodivergent love languages’ which is quite good, looking at some additional ways a Neurodivergent person might express their affection - Infodumping, Body Doubling/Parallel Play, Support Swapping, Deep Pressure, and Penguin Pebbling (more info here: https://careclinic.io/neurodivergent-love-languages/).  

Getting back to the idea of Trust as a love language, I would disagree that it is a ‘love language’ in itself.  Rather, I’d say that Trust is the foundational requirement for a healthy relationship to flourish - it’s the umbrella under which love can be expressed. And it’s intrinsic for the survival of a Neurodiverse relationship.  

See, a lot of Neurodivergent people have “learned” that showing others our true selves is often the quickest pathway to rejection. What is ‘learning’?  At a base level, ‘learning’ is the acquisition and retention of knowledge for future application.  It is the ability to comprehend that x + y = z, and to later apply ‘y’ to ‘x’ to get ‘z’ because we know that is the formula for a successful outcome. 

People learn all kinds of things. We learn mathematics.  We learn to spell our own name, to tie our shoes.  We learn how to boil water and make soup. We learn that socks and sandals are a combination to be mocked.  We learn that humans make mistakes. We learn that touching a hot stove hurts.  We learn that love hurts. 

And what do we do with that knowledge?  We retain it for future use.  We use math to sew and cook and create. We use appropriate tools to avoid physical pain.  We use social cues to avoid emotional pain.  We learn to exercise caution in relationships, because we know they can fail.  We avoid circumstances that have harmed us in the past.  

It can be hard to unlearn things. Because in fact you never ‘unlearn’ something - it’s always there, embedded in our brains.  All we can do is add to, overwrite, amend and adapt the knowledge we’ve gained through past education and experiences.

Neurodivergent people ‘learn’ early on that we are different, that we don’t quite fit in, that some of the things we do are odd or ‘quirky’.  We learn because we are told that our whole lives will now be a series of masks and pretending to be "normal", a pretension that will often demand every resource in our bodies and leave us exhausted for days, weeks or months. We learn that our emotions and natural responses to things are unregulated and unacceptable. 

Some of us only know that we are different, but never know why.  A lot of us end up choosing to shut down, to shut the world off, or to seek out other neurodiverse people for our primary social circles. Some of us give up on finding love, on finding acceptance, indeed, on even finding a place for ourselves in this world at all. 

This is why it is absolutely necessary to know that when we do open up, when we do choose to trust another human enough to let them through our defenses, that we’re not inadvertently subjecting ourselves to yet another instance of being othered.  That we’re not going to experience ridicule, condescension and disdain just for being ourselves.  Because we are weird - and we know we’re weird - but we don’t want to have to mask around the people who should accept us at face value. 

I’ve got a particular stim that past partners have made fun of me for doing.  I’ve been called weird for talking to myself and made fun of for instances of involuntary echolalia. I’ve been coerced into social occasions because my partner hasn’t understood my battery is way too low. I’ve been forced into conversations I didn’t have the energy for just because I didn’t want the other person to be upset. I’ve been patronised by partners for failing at a task they thought was easy. I’ve been dismissed by partners during moments of vulnerability, because they didn’t understand how the things I was being exposed to could pose a challenge for me, because it didn’t for them.  

Of course, there’s always going to be misunderstandings, and the need for communication lines to be kept open and flowing to combat those misunderstandings will always be present. Humans are always going to find other humans weird.  But we need to know that the people we choose to spend our most intimate moments with are not going to judge us for being weird.  We need to know that they’re not going to fetishise our quirks.  We need to know that they’re going to be supportive, no matter what. 

If we feel like we are being othered or forced into situations where we will need to mask around a potential partner, it only creates barriers to the fostering of that relationship, or even brings the premature conclusion of what could have been a potentially good partnership.   

Some personal examples… 

I was chatting to a guy a few years ago who wouldn’t stop bombarding me with messages.  He said all the wrong things, through no fault of his own, and I didn’t have the words to be able to tell him. He finally started hurling passive aggressive phrases at me until I blocked him.  (Interestingly, he still follows me on Instagram!) 

I was dating someone during an intense period of stress where my ability to be verbal was wildly fluctuating, and he didn’t understand that sometimes an emoji or meme was all I could manage, even after I summoned enough spoons to tell him that. He laughed off my meme-speak as an ‘attempt to be funny’ and kept trying to force conversation. Needless to say, he didn't last long either.

Another person I met was fairly “mainstream” - normal job, normal style of dressing, typical cishet "guy" interests like pub rock and footy. He constantly commented favourably on my alternative style of dress, my alternative hair, asked me to take him to a goth club some time, etc.  He said he’d never met anyone like me and it was “cool” how I was so “different”.  Yet whenever I tried to deepen our connection and share some of my challenges on the spectrum, he either didn’t want to or was unable to understand that the very thing that made me ‘cool’ in his eyes also presented barriers he would have to acknowledge in order for us to take things to the next level. 

Even recently, I had brunch with someone who really wanted to meet me, and the conversation kept cycling through me sharing something about myself and then having them question why I had said or done this, why didn’t I just do that instead, etc. It was exhausting and as a result I didn’t give this person a second date.  

So assuming I even have the spoons to be able to navigate the hurdles necessary to form a significant connection, I now have a huge amount of trust-trauma, a kind of trust bankruptcy if you will, and no desire to ‘be myself’ around a potential partner only to have that backfire in my face again. 

But the feeling of being loved and supported unconditionally is amazing, when you can achieve that with someone. When you feel you can be your most authentic self with someone, you have the confidence to let them laugh with you, because you know they’re not laughing AT you.  And when you know the person you’re with isn’t going to judge you, that you don’t have to monitor every word or action, that you don’t have to live every moment self-consciously, that you can be as weird as you want and let your freak flag fly and they’re not going to walk away - now THAT is pure magic.  

So I guess the TL;DR here is - Trust is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.  Especially for Neurodivergent people who are often operating on a deficit of trust. Because a lot of us have had the world telling us we’re weirdos from the moment we were born, and it’s so refreshing and soul-restoring to sit confidently in a relationship environment that celebrates our weirdness as uniqueness, without judgement.  It’s like being able to breathe fresh air again, after being underwater for far too long.