The Math You’ll “Never” Need
“I will never use this!” A refrain often heard from a majority of students in and around high school math classrooms. And at some level they are correct, the methods and scenarios that are used quite often do not reflect the real world applications. While I found the word problem of a man, a train, and a light at the end of the tunnel more comical than mathematically difficult the words above where often on my lips.
More than ten years out of high school, married with kids I found myself sitting at the kitchen table teaching myself trigonometry, apparently it’s required for almost every aspect of framing. Stairs, roofs, squaring, raked walls, curves (yes, curves) all use the SOH-CAH-TOA and Pythagorean theorem we memorized and regurgitated to pass grade 12 math. The difference this time around was the concept had a purpose, there was meaning and tangible connection between the numbers and the end goal. Cuts in lumber based on physical measurements taken suddenly gave a platform to show what sinθ=O/H meant in the physical world.
The term ‘skilled labor’ suddenly took on a new meaning. The societal stereotype of trades are uneducated broke. I understood that there was physical skill, the labor part, in the trades. That is easily identifiable, just look at a greenhorns plywood rips with a circular saw versus a seasoned carpenter. Seeing how complex math actually makes a carpenter’s job easier, even possible, really changed my paradigm. Suddenly the skill was more that just hands on tools but cognitively understanding 3D calculations. This practical application of what was presented in an abstract was in school was suddenly intriguing.
Armed with this new understating of the math I would “never use”, my job of layout and problem solving is easier. One of the situations where the skill of math was of biggest assist was when I needed to frame in a round shower corner between wall that met neither parallel or at right angle. I’ve added a diagram of the situation. The radius of the wall needed to be tangental to the straight walls (fancy way of saying plane out). See if you can solve it.
Be sure to subscribe over on YouTube as I’ll be walking through the solution for this.
Education is important, the classroom and the textbook do not provide a complete one. I wonder at times what other useful concepts where glazed over that I have missed out on. Through this website and associated social channels I strive to share the skills and concepts to be a competent in the field of carpentry. If you find this helpful or interesting I encourage you to follow along on Instagram, Hammr, and YouTube. Get interactive, ask questions, and abolish trade secrets.
