I Must Be Crazy: I’m Starting a Blog

Exactly one year ago, I stumbled my way into mathematics. It had been three years since my last math class, calculus 2, and to call me rusty would have been an understatement. I’m not exactly sure what motivated me to want to learn math again. Perhaps I was starting to see how math could improve my life more clearly. Perhaps I remembered being good at it and longed to feel skilled again. Perhaps I just recognized that as someone finishing up an economics degree and aiming to be some sort of analyst that I would need all of the math skills I could get if I ever wanted to work with the quants. Whatever the reason, my interested was piqued but where to start?

Like many people looking to learn something new I turned to Google search things like “how to learn math” or “best math books to read” or “order to learn math”. The results were mixed. The first major issue was that the majority of the resources for learning math are targeted at learning the early levels of math. I, personally, didn’t need help with fractions or tips for memorizing the quadratic formula or tutoring for trigonometry. There are comparatively few resources for calculus and up. The second major issue was that most of the resources which were more relevant to me assumed that the reader was taking or could take the related courses in a college. I was frustrated.

I eventually stumbled my way to a few of the Reddit math communities. If you have never visited them, you really should. There are almost always people there asking for advice and people often post book recommendations. I picked out a few books and added them to my cart on Amazon. After contemplating it for a while (and with the help of some liquid courage) I took the plunge and bought four math books. The books were:

• A Book of Abstract Algebra by Charles Pinter
• Introductory Real Analysis by A. N. Kolmogorov
• Advanced Calculus of Several Variables by C. H. Edwards Jr.
• Topology by Munkres

Honestly, the last three were way above my level and I couldn’t do more than stare at their contents in wonder (although I have since read them, more on those in the future). But the first one … oh the first one. Once I picked up Pinter’s book I was a changed person forever. I could not put it down. I studied it between my other classes. I read it before bed. Every time I would read and then hit a point where I became confused and the math was too advanced for me. Then I would go to sleep and attack it again in the morning until I got a little bit further. I was hooked.

A year has gone by. Five math courses, three good mentors, and several dozen math books later, I’m now working through the upper-division courses for a math degree. I’ve discovered a deep passion for mathematics which I haven’t felt for any subject before. I’m amazed and proud of myself for sticking with it for a year. It hasn’t been a completely smooth journey, but that is what makes it an adventure! Where this path will take me, I’m not quite sure but I know that I am headed in the right direction.

I am starting this blog for several reasons. First, I want to share my thoughts and experiences with the world. Second, I want to help people to see mathematics in a more positive light. Third, I want to provide some guidance to others who want to start learning math but are not sure where to start, especially those who are starting around the calculus level and above. Creating a website is challenging and I have so much to learn. Some of the basic pages of this site are still under construction as I write this, and likely will be for some time to come as I work on it. If you have happened to stumble across this site before it is completely finished, I beg your patience. I admit to being nervously excited at the prospect of running a blog. Perhaps I’m crazy for diving into this. Time will tell!

Fear No Math. That is the title and the mantra here. There is no part of math that is off limits, no matter how complicated. Understanding comes with patience and persistence.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you will come along on this journey with me.

Fear No Math!