From Fish to Infinity is a new series in the New York Times by Steven Strogatz exploring math. A math professor, he realized that many perfectly intelligent people are frightened or at least made uncomfortable by math.
I have a friend who gets a tremendous kick out of science, even though he’s an artist. Whenever we get together all he wants to do is chat about the latest thing in evolution or quantum mechanics. But when it comes to math, he feels at sea, and it saddens him. The strange symbols keep him out. He says he doesn’t even know how to pronounce them.
In fact, his alienation runs a lot deeper. He’s not sure what mathematicians do all day, or what they mean when they say a proof is elegant. Sometimes we joke that I just should sit him down and teach him everything, starting with 1 + 1 = 2 and going as far as we can.
I will always be indebted to my 4th grade teacher Ms. Gellerman at Peralta Elementary school. She had no fear of math. Even though I make my living as a graphic artist today, I use math constantly in my work. Even my comfort with the computers I use as my tools probably results from my early exposure to the basic concepts of programming she taught us.
Tags: math, New York Times, nyt