Is it normal for 13-15 year olds to be doing early calculus?

[lafrench34]

i was just wondering because my parents started me out very early now I am just starting calculus and I am only 13

 

[lafrench34]

i used to want to put in regular school classes

 

[chroot]

It's early, but not unreasonable. If you understand the material, and are interested in learning it, then don't worry about it.

- Warren

 

[Mace]

Hi yeah

Hi when i was 13 years old i started Calculus, and when i was 15 i like mastered it. I was one of the smartest kids in the state, of washington.
so it is possiable for 13 and 15 year olds to learn calculus if they mastered basic math.
-Mace

 

[mattmns]

dood i have like tottally masterred all of caclulus like when i was 7 year old, i was smart kid in united states, so ur parentz r lik eteachin u slowl.y

 

[Mace]

Ur so lucky

i had to teach myself, like about everything, my parents were high-school drop outs. i did master a number of inturments at 6 though.

 

[moose]

I mastered Washington State!111

Umm, seriously, why are you asking this question? Is it to inform everyone you are taking calculus at a "young" age, or are you thinking that this will harm you in some way? Or what? You obviously know that it's not exactly "normal" to take calculus when you're 13-15. Hell, it's not normal to take calculus in the first place (if you think about it).

The only thing that matters is if your teacher is good...

Oh, and Mace, if you're serious, That sucks that you had to teach yourself everything. By the way, I master everything I do. Everything. EVERYTHING!1111

EDIT: And mattmns, I can't stop laughing

 

[TMFKAN64]

i was just wondering because my parents started me out very early now I am just starting calculus and I am only 13

I would suggest you get in touch with your local child welfare office immediately. Studies have shown that young children can do irreparable damage to their tiny brains if they study calculus before they have matured enough to handle it.

 

[jtbell]

i was just wondering because my parents started me out very early now I am just starting calculus and I am only 13

Well, it's definitely not normal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad!

If you're feel like you're being pressured too much, or you're in over your head, then you should do something about it like talk honestly to your parents or a guidance counselor.

 

[Checkfate]

I truly can't understand the point. What is the use? It will be of no real use to you yet. I would focus on getting algebra down 100% before thinking about moving onto calculus. This is assuming that you don't know all of algebra yet. At 13 I was solving 2c=10. lol :) If you do know algebra very well, then perhaps calculus is the ne)(t step for you... Just please don't start with multivariable calculus at 14, geez! :) Good luck...

My }{ key is broken :( Cat spilled orange juice on the keyboard. lols

 

[Checkfate]

I would suggest you get in touch with your local child welfare office immediately. Studies have shown that young children can do irreparable damage to their tiny brains if they study calculus before they have matured enough to handle it.

lols, it causes brain tumours.

 

[Poop-Loops]

I'm 20 and Calculus is still hard for me and I'm still learning it.

If that doesn't make you feel better, nothing will.

 

[murshid_islam]

dood i have like tottally masterred all of caclulus like when i was 7 year old, i was smart kid in united states, so ur parentz r lik eteachin u slowl.y

and i came up with a truly wonderful proof of the Riemann Hypothesis when i was 4, but my brain was too tiny to hold it. so i forgot it.

 

[Chipset]

I started learning calculus in 14 and am taking official school class in the age of 15.
I don't know how normal it is, but as far as I know, math/physical schools in post-Soviet Union country usually start mandatory calculus in 8th grade.

 

[Beeza]

I think I'd worry more about being a kid and developing socially rather than learning advanced math.

 

[Hurkyl]

That sucks that you had to teach yourself everything.

No it doesn't; self-study is fun. And more effective too, I think. (certainly if you can get expert guidance occasionally)

I truly can't understand the point. What is the use? It will be of no real use to you yet.

Math is fun; does there need to be any other point? I remember (at 11, I think) being very excited to find out there was a world beyond trigonometry! It was so cool to find out about the Taylor series for the sine function!

But from a practical perspective, there isn't much point in stalling one's education for 6 years just because you don't "need" to learn something immediately. As you said, if he understands algebra, then learning calculus is a reasonable step.

I think I'd worry more about being a kid and developing socially rather than learning advanced math.

Why not do both?

 

[Hurkyl]

The only problem might be other kids might not appreciate or understand for such kids. It is sad that there is so much emphasis on social acceptance in this country.

This sort of confuses me too. So what if the other kids don't appreciate calculus? Surely he has other things in common with his peers -- maybe video games, cartoons, playground games, other classes...

 

[Beeza]

Why not do both?

Doing both is fine. However, I think that learning social skills will be really important eventually. Personally, I wish I had done both because I never even passed Algebra I in high school. But, although I may have been an idiot, I'm older and more mature now. I can talk and communicate with professors and research scientists better than most other students.

I've been in one class and heard of others where there are high school age kids taking differential equations, linear algebra/whatever, and these kids truly struggle to fit in and even communicate with others.

 

[Dragonfall]

Calculus can be learned at any age, really. The way it's taught nowadays consists of a set of rules that a kid can play with after a few minutes' time, like elementary algebra. 'Understanding' comes later, if necessary, in the form of analysis.

 

[Chipset]

I can't see why calculus and high-level math is interrupting social skills of person, is that just a stereotype: geek/jock division? My calculus class has the highest amount of talkable and socializing people than all others.

 

[Hurkyl]

I can't see why calculus and high-level math is interrupting social skills of person, is that just a stereotype: geek/jock division? My calculus class has the highest amount of talkable and socializing people than all others.

I've heard rumors to this effect -- I remember one girl in my linear algebra class that told me she had been in some other classes with smart high-schoolers, and they tended to be rather egotistical.

But I don't think it's safe to assume those students would have been any less egotistical had they not been in those classes.

And from another angle -- given the amount of communication I've seen in my college classes, I would be unsurprised if most people never learned about the well-adjusted kids in their class. (Though I suppose when they're as young as 13, it's a little more obvious)

 

[bkvitha]

i would just say COOOOL!
haha

u don really need to be a genius to learn calculus at 16(which i am)...but u r one if ur 13 ...lol...im still not strong in that...but i have mastered algebra by 15.
;p

so its just fine, for me, for u to start mastering it now itself!

 

[JasonRox]

I think I'd worry more about being a kid and developing socially rather than learning advanced math.

How can that affect your social development?

 

[JasonRox]

I can't see why calculus and high-level math is interrupting social skills of person, is that just a stereotype: geek/jock division? My calculus class has the highest amount of talkable and socializing people than all others.

Exactly.

I'm a lot more social now as a math major than I ever was before.

I talk to girls a lot more comfortably that's for sure.

 

[Chipset]

I talk to girls a lot more comfortably that's for sure.

Right, right, it's a lot more easier to talk to a girl than to write professor in uni about mentorship with crazy ideas

 

[Serbian.matematika]

Chipset , we did kalkulus in grade 7 in Leningrad:-)

 

[eep]

I think these kids are just concerned about becoming the next Einstein... want to learn calculus at 13? Go ahead. There's no "right" age to learn anything, as long as you can understand it. As for the whole social thing, just make sure you have other stuff to talk about. I hardly had any friends from my "honors" classes because everyone was so boring! All they wanted to do was homework and college applications!

 

[moose]

No it doesn't; self-study is fun. And more effective too, I think. (certainly if you can get expert guidance occasionally)

Well of course self-study is fun. However, I don't know how good it would be to teach yourself that amount of one subject.

I like self-study because it usually forces you to understand everything far more than when it is taught to you, but there are limits to that...

 

[mathwonk]

obviously you are not doing this by choice. tell your parents to lay off.

i obliged my older son to read an algebra book when he was 11 or so, and next year he placed first in the state in a math contest. boy was i pleased. then he made it very clear he did not ike being pushed to do this stuff and totally quit.

i tried to get him to go to my college alma mater too, but he chose his own road, and is now an extremely happy married father and well employed creative internet world mathematician - engineer and businessman.

your parents are apparently misguided and trying to force you to fulfill their dreams, or to outshine some other kids.

on the other hand, you are very bright, so try to challenge yourself in some field of your own choice.


Now here is the other side of the story. when i was a kid my father bought me books on quantum theory, and tried to push me into higher elarning but i totally refused. I said, gee how come he complains when i bring home an A- when i am still the top kid in the class.

what i did not want to admit was that our school was very easy and he knew it. i had my way, and refused to do any of the outside reading or elarning he recommended.

then i got into harvard in my test scores, and uh oh, all the other kids had been to better schools in the north, and learned far more than i had. just being top in my little southern class put me pretty near the bottom of my harvard class in preparation.

after all i realized dad was right, that what he had urged for me was actually not beyond my abilities, just beyond the level of challenge of my peers. i didnt want to be different and have kids say they hated me because i was academically smarter than they were.

thats why i did what i did to my kid.

so it is a delicate dance. try to get into a school where the level is higher and you won't be ostracized for being smart. and do summer activities for smart kids like dukes tip program.

but do not let your parents ruin for you the joy of learning. let them know you appreciate their help and aspirations for you, but that it is crucial you find your own way, or it will all be for naught.

get a counselor to help you explain it to them if necessary.

you are going to be alright. learning to stand up to your parents, while still respecting their experience, is a useful lesson.

 

[chroot]

Let's not forget that calculus is essentially 'elementary math' in most college curriculums. It's not like the kid's parents are trying to force-feed him algebraic topology.

- Warren

 

[sdemjanenko]

calculus is a great math, gives u a whole new perspective. I took calc 1-3 and diff eq besides 2 semesters of discrete math and a semester of linear algebra. Currently i am taking probability theory and I'm a senior in high school. Whatever keeps you from getting bored it worth it.

 

[chroot]

How are you taking three semesters of calculus and differential equations in high school? Are you attending community college part-time?

- Warren

 

[sdemjanenko]

i was in the UB gifted math program and that's how i took the 2 semesters of discrete math in by 11th grade year. I also went to them saying i wanted to take calculus so they got me registered for the college, its SUNY at Buffalo. Anyway i took calc 1 last summer and calc2,3 last fall/spring. then linear algebra and diff eq this past summer

 

[mathwonk]

the key issue is whether the topic is enjoyed by the user, not the difficulty.

obviously sdemjanenko is enjoying his experience and the other kid is not.

besides difficulty is all in the eye of the beholder or the skill of the teacher.

anything can be explained in an elementary way by someone who understands it.

there is nothing difficult about algebraic topology if it is selectively presented by some one who likes it.

i have taught euler characteristics to 2nd graders, by handing out cardboard polyhedra and letting them color them, and count the facets.

one of those children, now grown up, is an aeronautical engineer.

there was an 11 year old named lenny eng, in my 12 year old son's summer math class at duke tip. lenny loved pure math and is now a famous mathematician of some kind. But my son wanted to do something else.

actually he enjoyed the well - taught summer program at duke, but when he got home i tried to cram more down his throat than he wanted.

the whole matter concerns extracurricular activities that are enjoyed and self chosen, versus those that are force fed.

unfortunately parenting is not something we all get adequately trained for.

 

[lafrench34]

sry i did not respond earlier i went to a college fair today with my friends

 

[sdemjanenko]

concerning socialization, i don't hang out with friends too much, but that's because there are not a lot of people i find interesting. They are all talking about trivial matters, things that are not current, isn't news or intellectual related. I suppose getting into the right college is the most important thing. Just to meet other people like you. After all, if you are highly talented you can't just expect it to develop, there is some sacrifice.

 

[Curious3141]

It's perfectly OK. I read calculus when I was 12 or so (off my own bat). It wasn't covered in school till I turned 15, but by then I had mastered the basic stuff.

 

[moose]

sdemjanenko, you really need to relax a bit and loosen up some. Not everything has to be intelectually stimulating.

 

[mathwonk]

i read mostly comic books as a kid, and still like them now. i only learned a little calculus for the first time in college, but did not understand it much until grad school. still i have over 500 pages of published refereed research in mathemaics journals, an NSF postdoc at Harvard, dozens of international conference invitations, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant moneys. lighten up. there is a lot of time left to do mathematics.

 

[d_leet]

i read mostly comic books as a kid, and still like them now. i only learned a little calculus for the first time in college, but did not understand it much until grad school. still i have over 500 pages of published refereed research in mathemaics journals, an NSF postdoc at Harvard, dozens of international conference invitations, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant moneys. lighten up. there is a lot of time left to do mathematics.

I have to say thank you for posting this, this truly is one of the most reassuring and enlightening thing I have heard/read about the field of mathematics for the last two or three days.

 

[CPL.Luke]

as for socialization, there are other people out there interested in math, I wa lucky enough to meet someone who was very interested in math and physics during my freshman year of high school. There are other people out there who share your interests (alhough it is a good idea to have more to talk about than mathematics).

also be sure that your not pushing yourself because of any pre-concieved notions about what makes a person smart, similarly if your judging conversations to be to unintllectual than you have to ask yourself whether or not your doing that because you have some pre-concieved notions of what smart peopple talk about etc.

 

[bkvitha]

well...as a kid myself...

childhood n teenhood will just go away in an instant...don't push yourself too much, but this doesn't mean that u should get involved in inmorale activities.

follow your heart, but make sure your mind reasons for it.
u can dream but don't make your dreams your master...worst if u become a slave to someone else's dreams.

in the end it is all up to u ...u make the choice ...but also keep your mind open to advices...

for instance, advices of all of these ppl who have replied to your thread...but like what mathwonk said...respect your parents experiences as well...u have to tell it now or never, talk with your parents...

may it be your hopes n dreams come true!

~smile always~ :D

16yr old

 

[Chipset]

as for socialization, there are other people out there interested in math, I wa lucky enough to meet someone who was very interested in math and physics during my freshman year of high school. There are other people out there who share your interests (alhough it is a good idea to have more to talk about than mathematics).

It is an excellent idea to have more to talk about than mathematics and I can't see how mathematics in some way prohibits one from being talkable in other areas.

 

[kdinser]

Quote from a friend of mine
"my nephew is 12 and taking calculus"

Response from a mutual friend
"that boy is never going to have a date"

Sadly, my own high school experience bears this out. There was not one person who was taking higher level math (over algebra II) that was actively dating or socializing with the general population of the high school. The people I knew well in the high level math group were almost incapable of talking about normal high school or regular teenager stuff. I was kind of on the fringe between the 2 groups and got along well with both. I may have been smart enough for the high level stuff, but lazy enough to just coast through with C's and b's.

If only I knew then what I know now :).

 

[Sojourner01]

Never be afraid to push yourself harder in learning if that's what you're interested in. Schools dumb things down - it is always worth going beyond what an ordinary school can be bothered to teach you - and there will always be someone better than you even then. What you're doing is giving yourself a chance to compete with them.

Oh, and books written for schools are appalling. Throw them in the bin, and get some elementary (foundation/freshman) college books. "Physics" by Hans C. Ohanian is good for the basics - ever so slightly below first year college level. I wouldn't recommend it for actual college work, though.

 

[alias25]

wow, i wish i was taught things earlier, your lucky. Then again i was busy messing around with friends, probably wouldn't have had the time to work. ;)

 

[J77]

I didn't take education seriously until I was 17.

It's not a race.

 

[neurocomp2003]

If you grasp calculus at an early age... you should learn some C/C++ coding to develop physics-based FPS games...then you can reallly wow your friends...or get a job

Also at least your parents are taking an interest into your academic life

 

[Gokul43201]

In many Asian countries, you have your first mandatory calculus class when you are 13 - 15.

 

[Worzo]

Calculus used to be mandatory in the UK at the age of 15...until it was deemed "too hard" and pushed up to be learned at 17 instead. I think everyone should at least be shown some calculus at high school to get an appreciation of the power of maths.

Some of the basic rules of calculus are not as difficult to learn as standard high school algebra.