(October 29, 2016 at 12:14 pm)Alex K Wrote: I keep forgetting that I'm a math teacher now. Still haven't gotten quite used to the idea. Many of my students hate math, and I consider it my personal mission to convince them that it is great.
One thing I have to say though, what you encounter under the name of Mathematics in high school is not yet quite the real deal. The real thing is much better, grander than I can grasp, goes deeper than I can imagine, and never seems to end. I could spend the rest of my life exploring algebra, differential geometry and algebraic topology, maybe even prove some new theorems, and wouldn't get bored. It's insane. It's like this infinite elegant architecture that we just find lying before us.
Those are great words. Well said, sir. As a self-taught student of mathematics, my adventure in math learning can be summed up as follows:
My mathematical journey has been quite wonderful. I’ve been a lone eagle soaring high and deep into an endless horizon filled with wonder. At times, my explorations were dauntingly frustrating, but nevertheless, the knowledge and insights gained from them became invaluable companions guiding me in my quest to expand my field of vision; making me less oblivious to the beauty continually surrounding us all. Hence, I could never cover the entirety of the intangible territory of mathematics in a lifetime, nor could a fleet of our finest minds; yet, I continue to explore it, not out of a desire to map its entirety, but to uncover something wonderful and unique; thus, enabling me to be a part of it in my own way.
