In many university mathematics curriculums, discrete math is the course used to transition students from the computation-oriented mindset (instilled in them by high school and early undergraduate courses up through calculus) to the more abstract and proof-oriented mindset. Thus, teaching you to use that "really really advanced level math notation" is often one of the primary goals of the course, even if it seems like unnecessary overkill at the time. If you refuse to learn it, you're setting yourself up for failure in any future math course that uses that notation as the starting point for building new concepts and abstractions.

We were never taught the notations, he would just pull out dozens of glyphs from his vast experience in mathematics - not the standard notations you might find in a text book. I won't deny that I could've researched these topics deeply in my own time enough to keep up with the graduate student, but I myself had no interest in being a graduate math student just to pass the course.

I'm sorry you had that experience. No student deserves to be treated the way you were treated.

Mathematics is a deep subject. It requires many hours of study over decades to develop. Students who are struggling deserve to have a patient teacher explain things to them in terms they already understand. Not every student has this experience, however. I have tutored a number of my peers in undergrad and they have complained of similar treatment from professors or TAs. I do my best to help them and make sure they really understand the topics they're studying.

> Keep in mind this is a large public university charging $40k/year.

Funny enough, that grad student was almost certainly making less than that. Universities are screwed up.

Another useful realization, after a witty quote attributed to Einstein, is to consider that as much trouble as you (the GP) were having with math, the grad student was having much more.

It will not help you, but generally, you should go to a university with an intent to learn, not to be taught.