lesson zero

Falling in Love with Math

Falling in love with math was much like falling in love with anything in life.

I know it sounds crazy, but I can still remember vividly the day I walked into my biology advisor’s office and told him that calculus had stolen my heart, I had decided to switch my major.

He immediately asked why, and as with many matters of the heart I had little explanation for how I felt. I just knew it.

I needed to pursue mathematics.

In retrospect, I guess I was in love with math far before I had even realized it. I went to university to learn science, but my heart already belonged to math.

Evidence? Well, if you search out my senior high school year book and find my portrait, underneath it you will find a quote that says it all.

Love is like Pi. Naturally occurring, irrational and ultimately important.

And so there it is. The very beginnings of a love affair that has been burning for years. And through the years we have made some beautiful memories.

Late night proofs. Victorious exams. Epic fails.

We loved, we fought, sometimes we didn’t speak at all.

The other night I realized something. I realized all this passion and knowledge was festering inside me. In my world math is meant to be shared, it just cannot be contained. Cannot be forgotten.

So I’ve decided to write about the mathematics I love, probably in a way quite uncommon and untraditional to the field.

I welcome you to follow along. Whether you love, hate or are ambivalent towards math, I invite you nonetheless. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find yourself in love with math much like I did.