In the fall of 1997, I entered my first day of 7th grade. Prior to the eclipse of me graduating primary school, I was elected to enter the honor courses that our school district provided. Looking back now, honesty tells me I can't really consider this a feat, as growing up in a poorer region of my country - I'm sure anyone with a slight level of intelligence was considered gifted. Nonetheless, that fall I walked into my first period class, first year, junior high - Pre-Algebra.
Weeks went by, and I learned how to solve problems that include fractions and exponents. Simple enough. Same grudgingly long school days where I regurgitated information out of a textbook, and like an adolescent dog the teacher's would crack a smile and light up when I did something correctly, their puppy treat of sorts, as if they actually did anything to aid me other than giving me painstakingly good memorization drills.
During the introductory lesson of how to solve equations, the Solve for x that we've all come to know and hate, I decided to raise my hand and ask the teacher "What is x?" - This was the first time I had ever spoken up in class and questioned the teachings, in the form of "What is x?" "What am I ACTUALLY solving?" "When will I ever use this?" "Why am I wasting precious daylight in a dark, damp classroom when I could be exploring my own problems that I had at age 10?". The teacher misunderstood my question, and reverberated back to me that "What is x?" is the whole point of the lesson. So I reiterated - "No, what actually is x? Why am I solving for x? What purpose does x have in my life?" I can remember the moment, pretty plain-as-day. He looked at me in a confused stare and stated that it was just a math problem and that I needed to learn this for the test we'd be having.
At that point, my interest in math died. Not a slow death like most grade A students that I went to school with due to years of agonizing regurgitated teaching, reaching father than just math. It was a swift, nail-in-the-coffin death that continued to echo throughout my entire education. From that point forward, if a subject did not interest me and I found no meaning of it's contents in which I could deduce a reason as to needing to know the information - either by events that were taking place in my life at the time - or events that I could plausibly suggest may take place in future dates - well, I just didn't apply myself to those subjects. I only learned what I wanted to learn, what interested me.
Luckily, I was a pretty curious individual and self-study became my after-school activity. Computers became my love fairly quickly, despite my lack of knowledge for higher mathematics. Currently, I'm rather successful in my career based on salary, position, as well as overall applied knowledge in my field of study. I never went on to college for fear of placing myself through the same torture I experienced in grade schools.
I had picked up The Mathematician's Lament, among some other mathematics books in a hope to try and rekindle a love for mathematics and problem solving, the latter of which is so ingrained in my everyday life. Thankfully, Paul Lockhart has brought that flame with this book - and my quest for the art of explanation has since been reestablished.
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Wil HerrgitReviewed in Germany on March 18, 2023
Ein sehr besonderes, kleines Buch ...
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Bernard M,Reviewed in France on November 20, 2022
Motivation totale pour entrer en match
Format: KindleVerified Purchase - Phanidhar IrukuvajjalaReviewed in India on September 13, 2024
Brilliant book on how to think math
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Miguel M.Reviewed in Spain on July 17, 2021
Matemáticas en inglés
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - doug honeReviewed in Canada on August 6, 2020
Surely you're joking Mr. Lockhart
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