JMB's Notes

This is just to make Jam really nostalgic.

A Level maths, lesson 1: “You: Why are you taking notes in my class? No taking notes. The only notes you’re allowed to take are the 10 that I will give you. And here’s the first: ‘Draw a Diagram’. Always draw a diagram of what you’re trying to solve in mathematics.”

99 notes and 2 years later – that particular blackboard had filled up. Here they are. I can remember what most of them refer to.

1. Draw a diagram
2. Draw a triangle
3. Go to extremes
4. Use symmetry
5. Draw axes
6. Learn as little as possible
7. Eliminate what you don’t want
8. RTQ
9. ATQ
10. ‘Hence or otherwise’ usually means hence
11. Use common sense
12. Don’t use common sense
13. Don’t jump to conclusions
14. Better wrong than stuck
15. Waste time
16. Don’t waste time
17. The more work you do, the more work you do
18. Fiddle the answer
19. Don’t fiddle the answer
20. Do it easy
21. Do as little as possible
22. Waste paper
23. Don’t turn pages
24. Use brackets
25. New = old + change
26. Go back to basics
27. Deadlines are fatal
28. Maths is fun
29. Mathematicians are idle
30. Eliminate fractions
31. Keep your mind on the job
32. Let your mind wander
33. It will all end in tears
34. Worry gets you nowhere
35. Perseverance wins races
36. Quite right too
37. Argue (from a strong position)
38. Simplification is easier than complication
39. Stay CVR
40. Per adversitas ad astras
41. No geography allowed in this room.
42. You learn something new everyday
43. The means is more important than the ends
44. Read the book
45. Prove it nearly every time
46. ‘Shall I refuse my dinner because I do not fully understand the process of digestion’ (Heaviside)
47. Be tidy
48. Your bridges will fall down
49. Move the origin
50. Rotate the axes
51. e wins; log loses
52. Turn the wind on
53. Use flagpoles
54. Aim at a stationary target
55. Use dustbins
56. Use flowerpots
57. OR = +; AND = x;
58. Use letters
59. Check dimensions
60. Be ruthless
61. Do one thing at a time
62. Use energy
63. Use momentum
64. Struggle on
65. If stuck, stack
66. Know your aim
67. Chew it over
68. Packets or fruit machines
69. There’s hope yet
70. No Bayes
71. Break sticks
72. Vesti la guibba
73. Downhill all the way
74. Brain or brawn
75. 1 = 1 ²
76. Draw your own diagram
77. Let’s pretend
78. I hate logs
79. It is obvious
80. That’s amazing
81. Be patient
82. Use your imagination
83. Be confident
84. We’re all incompetent
85. Learn on the job
86. Zero is always interesting
87. Have fun
88. Let the algebra look after you
89. Use your initiative
90. Use cookery when you understand it
91. Eat vegetables, they’re good for you
92. Don’t be frightened
93. Use a parameter
94. Look up less; think more
95. It’s never too late to learn
96. Don’t leave things till the last minute
97. Don’t give up too easily
98. Know when to give up
99. Eliminate constants
100. Cancel physics