“We have not succeeded in answering all our problems. The answers we have found only serve to raise a whole set of new questions. In some ways we feel we are as confused as ever, but we believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things.“
– Bernt Øksendal
Welcome to Fear No Math! This website is here to encourage and support anyone who wants to learn more about mathematics and the world, and also to chronicle my own learning journey. My name is Lance Johnson, and I am passionate about expanding my knowledge and building new skills. My primary area of knowledge is in mathematics, but I also have interests in physics, technology, and finance. Despite no longer being in school, I push myself to continue learning with rigorous self study. Through the careful reading of textbooks, drilling of exercises, communication with others, and occasional blogging, I push my understanding forward one day at a time.
The title “Fear No Math” represents my philosophy of not being afraid to dig into the details of a topic, to ‘do the math’ so to speak. Additionally, it also represents my determination to not be dissuaded from diving into things even if they is outside the range of my existing skills. Often the best way to learn is to dive in head first, developing experience and arriving at solutions through an iterative process.
I invite you, whoever you are, to join me on a journey of learning and self-fulfillment. Whatever your goals and no matter how daunting the challenges you face, you have the power to advance your knowledge and improve your circumstances. Below I outline some of the factors which motivate me to learn, whether through school or self study. Perhaps you will share some of these motivations. Below that I give a brief overview of why I believe now is the best time to be able to teach yourself something new.
Under the resources tab you will find materials to help you on your learning journey, particularly related to math and physics. The book reviews tab has a list of short reviews for various books I have used and enjoyed. Some of them have links to more in-depth reviews. And last but not least, if you go to the blog page you can see all of my various posts about math, learning, or whatever else I decide to write about.
Once again, welcome!
The Power of Learning
Personal Fulfillment
Learning about the world around us can be deeply fulfilling. Whether it is the forces that govern movement of particles or the models that drive the markets, discovering more about life’s mysteries reveals more of its beauty. Understanding is empowering.
Career Advancement and Financial Opportunity
Expanding knowledge and increasing skills can provide all manner of opportunity. Learning can help you advance in your current position, or transition to a new position. Knowledge can help you to better manage your finances, or innovate new products or businesses.
Patriotism and Community
In the modern, high tech world nations and communities need educated and well informed citizens. Maintaining critical technical knowledge and having the capacity to innovate new solutions to challenges can be as important to a nation’s security as battleships and tanks. In addition, new technologies present new challenges that must be debated and discussed by an informed citizenry.
A World of Knowledge
It has never been easier to learn, largely due to the internet. There are books, videos, courses, communities, illustrations, websites, and discussions on every topic imaginable. There are full length lectures for entire courses from prestigious universities, some of them even complete with homework assignments and solutions. There are communities dedicated to assisting people who are learning certain topics. A quick search can find discussions explaining the best introductory textbooks to use for a given topic, and those textbooks can be easily ordered online. If a particular concept is confusing, more often than not you can find explainer videos which break it down in varying levels of difficulty. Countless writers and bloggers (myself humbly included) who provide guides on how to learn things. It is, in short, a wonderful time to be an self directed learner.
However, with so much content to choose from it can be difficult to know where to start. There are also significant variations and gaps in how material is presented, with an overabundance of both basic and advanced presentations but sometimes much less in the middle. There are dead ends, redundancies, errors, and sticking points. I am all to familiar with the difficulties that come with the territory. Through trial and error, and no small amount of help from others, I have found a path that works for me. My goal is to help people to find the materials they need, either by pointing them in the right direction or creating some of the material myself if no suitable material exists.