Evolution of a Mathematician
The Early Years
Sometimes the first
steps of a journey are made without notice. Without fanfare.
Here is the beginning of one such journey.
Basic Skills:
Flash Cards. Endless months filled with flash cards.
Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division ad nauseum.
Addition was red.
Subtraction was blue.
Multiplication and division were orange.
Over and over and over.
3rd Grade:
I don't know. I was bored. I was forced to have parents and teachers
monitor my homework. Eventually I took a test and skipped a year
of math. Thank goodness we didn't have A.D.D. back then.
4th Grade:
Writing the Roman Numerals.
1-100 one night.
101-200 the next.
Up to 1000 for 10 days.
I loved it.
However, I got glasses here. They created a social outcast. I
would bet money that there is some connection between poor eyesight
and skill in math or science. But, that still doesn't save us
from years of humiliation.
5th/6th Grade:
A momentary S-lisp, recorder lessons, a first male teacher, a
solar eclipse, and being dragged to endless Mensa meetings drowned
out my memories of much else.
7th Grade:
Pre-Algebra.
What the hell is pre-"anything?" It's math, but what
kind?. Pre-algebra can't be topics in algebra. That would come
in the algebra course. So give it a real name! Plus, no one remembers
a pre course after taking the course. At least not in grade school.
8th Grade:
Algebra. An exciting challenge. Every assignment was a puzzle
waiting to be solved.
9th Grade:
Geometry. Proofs. Plus I never saw an A.S.S.
(If you don't remember, go ask someone.)
10th Grade:
Algebra 2 / Trigonometry
Two classes in one year. A fast pace. Trig was hard.
This was the year I saw infinity. Long before any alcohol, I
was just sitting around and saw it. It's straight and it goes
on and on! It's not that hard people. Silly physicists making
it spherical or doughnut shaped simply because they can't imagine
something without end.
11th Grade:
Pre-Calculus.
Further proof that we shouldn't call anything "pre."
I remember some FOIL methods, some factoring, and lots of quadratic
equations. But we didn't learn calculus fundamentals. It should
have been called Fancy Algebra 2.
12th Grade:
Calculus.
2/3rds of a college textbook.
A special teacher hired to instruct.
45 mins - 2 hrs of work every night.
I didn't take the Advanced Placement exam. No one told me I might
be in college one day. It almost ended here.
Coming:
College - The First 2 Years
-and-
College- The Last 2-ish Years
Check out Congruence in Z's first
article:
Art
Imitates Life, Life Imitates Infinity
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