Abstract Utopia - I am a Desert.

If I was a number I would be {n+1}U{n}; n -> 12

September 07, 2006
« No, wait, let me sum up. | Main | And Ode to my ambrosia »

I am a math dork. I admit it. I like math. I like evil math. Math most people flee in terror from. I like it. It makes me squishy on the inside.

I like set math.

I like topology.

I like theory math.

I like fuzzy math.

I like partials.

But my favorite math is a combination of these things. It makes me giddy on the inside.

My favorite math is Quantum Field Theory.

This is math that makes most people’s brains melt. It is set math, theory math, matrix math and high level calculus all rolled into one shiny ball of awesome.

I would not want to teach math. In fact, I would rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon. Teaching math must be the most miserable bastard of a job ever. Most people don’t like math and thus, the job itself must suck on levels of extraordinary agony. I appreciate people who teach math.

The first math teacher I had who really helped me enjoy it was Mr. Cochran. I was in 6th grade when they made me skip to 7th and Mr. Cochran became my math teacher. He put me into algebra rather than the normal math. When I got kicked out of that school, I got him to sign my year book. He said that the Math Faeries would continue to bless me. Because of him I pursued math a bit more heavily. I transferred to a school where the math teachers sucked, but I stuck with it because of him.

I know he’s not reading this and doesn’t care.

But … thanks. This is for you.

Posted by Utopia at September 7, 2006 10:15 AM

Comments

Oh man...I love that pic! I wish I had the guts to be that snarky when I was failing algebra in high school.

Posted by: Andrea at September 8, 2006 03:18 PM

You're the absolute opposite of me, who can't quite manage long multiplication, but I have great respect for people who get all that a-b (n+1)=x stuff so good on ya! :)

Posted by: Rachey at September 10, 2006 07:53 AM

I have always been good at math. I even selected it as my major when I first went to college. Then I discovered that, while I love math & working equations, etc., I really couldn't care less how it works, I'm just glad it does.

Math has always come so naturally to me. When I was an English tutor at the community college I attended for a while, the rest of the staff found out I was good at math. They tried to get me to be a math tutor. I declined. I can't conceive of not being able to "do math." Besides, when students come for help, they want to know the best way to solve a problem. The thing is, give me 3 of the same type of problem, with different numbers as givens, and I'll solve it 3 different ways. And I can't tell you why I'd use one way on one situation and not the other two. I'd suck as a math tutor.

That being said, I was a great English tutor. The main reason I quit was because they assigned me a weekly standing appointment with a developmental reading student, even when I asked that they not. It blows my mind that a college student can't read. While I can teach anyone how to proofread a paper, or find the theme of a short story, I can't teach one how to read. So I quit. I was a volunteer, anyway.

Posted by: monogodo at September 18, 2006 10:00 PM

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