Another Mathematics Revival

Two years ago, I wrote about how I planned to study “more math than is physically safe” within 36 weeks. It was an ambitious plan that ultimately never came to life.

While studying math in college, my first year and a half didn’t go so well. High school mathematics, like most other subjects, came easily to me. Despite not needing to study much, I excelled and was a top student. So, I adopted that same mentality in college, expecting to breeze through.

But there are two key differences between high school and college mathematics. The first is that the coursework is, unsurprisingly, more difficult. And the second is that you learn the material within a condensed time frame. High school blesses you with nine months to learn a subject, while college gives you three to four months.

So, you have less time to learn more difficult topics.

My flawed mentality and lack of effort still allowed me to pass my classes, although there were a few close calls. I only studied enough to pass and not enough to retain or apply the information.

I changed my mindset during my final year and a half of college by studying more effectively and approaching my learning with greater intention. This helped me to remember what I learned and to enjoy mathematics.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the initiative or motivation to apply my math degree to the real world. Instead, the world of copywriting and marketing attracted me, and I shifted my focus there.

For the next two years post-college, I remained abstinent from math.

My passion for math never faded away during this period, but I never prioritized it. So, I forgot most of what I had learned in college. Even Calculus II basics felt like hieroglyphics. Eventually, I decided to pursue a data career and began to regret my choice to ignore math.

So, when I planned to study “more math than is physically safe,” I wanted to make up for the lost time. I designed an elaborate plan to master Discrete Math, Calculus, Proofs, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability, and Statistics. All that within 36 weeks. Reflecting on this now, I realize it truly was too much math for a 36-week interval.

My overarching goal was to leverage my math skills to enter a field involving advanced mathematics and programming. Although I was hunting for data analyst jobs, careers in data science, financial engineering, and quantitative analysis intrigued me more.

However, further research on those careers made me realize that, given my skill level, they weren’t jobs I could land within a few months. The safer and lucrative option at the time was to continue pursuing data analytics.

So, I did that.

But prioritizing my job search meant putting math lower on my to-do list. I eventually landed a data analyst role (the same one I work in today). The plan was to continue my math journey, but it didn’t happen. I don’t know why.

Since starting my data analyst job two years ago, I’ve had frequent thoughts of relaunching my math studies. But among other passions and hobbies, I never allocated the time.

Luckily, things are different now.

Last month, I published a post about the Ross-Littlewood paradox after reading about it in a math book. The way I obsessed over the paradox and engaged with my mathematical mind excited me. It reminded me of the wonderful times I had solving complex math problems towards the end of college.

Busying myself with the paradox, trying to deduce answers, and writing about them made me feel, once again, driven to pursue math.

My motivation to study math two years ago stemmed from a desire to land a lucrative job. This time around, my motivation differs. Rather than focusing on making more money, I want to study math for the thrill of it.

Most people view math as a boring, complicated subject they’re forced to study in school. They’re right about the complicated part but completely wrong about the boring part.

Math is fun, exciting, and beautiful. It provokes your mind in magnificent ways and teases your problem-solving and puzzle-solving skills. These reasons drew me to math in high school. And they are the reasons I’m reviving my studies now.

I don’t have a strict plan to follow. That may or may not be a good thing. From previous intellectual endeavors, I knew that spending too much time upfront on developing a strategy would lead to overplanning and no execution.

So, instead, I decided to start first and figure out a concrete strategy along the way.

This has worked so far, as I am one month into my journey. I’m having fun revisiting single-variable calculus and linear algebra. While some topics confuse me, the satisfaction from understanding them and solving problems enthralls me as it did years ago.

I plan to write more about this self-education journey in the future. Hopefully, some fascinating ideas and posts sprout.