I am a 28 year old high school drop out, I started doing math as a hobby while I was in my early 20's and I am 2 years into a math degree in college now. I wish there were more interviews about people who do math who didn't start when they were 14. I haven't ever seen one.
I'm also a hs drop out and atm I'm 31 and studying math to sit exams that will hopefully get me into college. I feel like I'm starting my life again, in a way.
This came up randomly after watching another Math Sorcerer video, so I'll comment on it two years later because I have this book and am working through it. I am an electrical engineer, so my Math department math ended with Calculus/DiffEq and Linear Algebra (and one proofs class as a prereq for a CS course). So I missed out on the higher mathematics courses that are less applicable to engineering. Even if I do grad school, it will be an MSEE and I won't have an excuse to take more math courses. This book is really good at giving you an overview that is a little deeper than the "Learn X in Y minutes" UA-cam videos. I'm not likely to go through a whole textbook on a field I'm just curious about. But this book gives you the basic theorems that will give you a good taste of it to whet your appetite. Each chapter ends with a list of recommended books to learn more. This is a book that really fills a gap that I don't think any other book does and it does it well.
When I saw the Roman aqueducts for the first time, it gave me a huge insight. Those structures are physical examples of hydrostatics, fluid dynamics, gravity as a source of energy and as a force, civil and mechanical engineering, architecture, and craftsmanship. None of the people who did any of that work had a college degree, never took any STEM courses. Yet, they created a system of water delivery that functions thousands of years later. The insight was that you must understand concepts before ever taking on problems. As Dr. Garriity points out, why is any of this necessary. For the Romans, a way of getting water where it needed to be was why they needed to know all aspects of aqueduct building. They learned as they went, trial and error, until they saw how the physical world works. Centuries later, Bernoulli codified the math, but the Romans didn't need any of that to get things done. That underscored that anyone put aside the theorems, formulas, proofs, and calculations aside until the concepts and the "why" were understood...
They had schools for engineering and rhetoric you know. It's not true that they never attended school, just that something approaching our university programs didn't quite exist yet. You would learn counting maths for arithmetic and cencus/business math separately from your rhetoric as a poor person but the builders and engineers of Rome would have learned that and started some sort of apprenticeship anywhere from 7 to 8 years of age. It's a heuristic loop most anti-college pro trade school/self teaching types like to trot out without realizing or recognizing the depth and relative similarities and simplicity with which people recieve all different kinds of education nowadays. This is not to say self directed learning is bad or that causal experience and trial and error weren't part of the Roman school/engineering experience but it's a survivorship bias as well that makes us look at one schools or truly apprenticeship skilled method of building aqueducts that then leads people to assume "no schooling was required and they still did a better job. " At best, we can infer that they may or may not have attended a trade school with some basic Euclidean geometry with "string theory " (and by that I mean, conjecturing and measuring alignments using basic geometry derived from triangulation and measurement with string,compass, plumb bob, and angles) to figure out alignment, standard cuts,lengths, and building material quality. Things like checking cement materials, density,and setting time alongside local geography, means of what survives, they either got lucky, planned the building site well, and only slightly avoided material pillaging or earthquakes. Back then for all the engineering robustness they still attributed earthquakes to gods getting angry and turning the world around like a snow globe. The concept of thermodynamics and geology and chemistry certainly wasn't possible with the type of knowledge and models they had back then.
I’m now almost 65 years old and always was kinda interested in math. Used to be good at it, but never studied it seriously. Been following you for some time and recently ordered the book you mentioned. Now that I saw this interview I’m really going to spend one or two hours every day to read and study the book. Especially Fournier analysis intrigued me, so I may end up studying that in more detail. Thank you for taking the time to make this very interesting and entertaining video. Also special thanks to professor Garrity to take the time for this interview.
This epiphany that Garrity is talking about around 11:30 is common in learning complex systems. I'm a linguist, not a mathematician, and this sudden convergence of understanding is pretty common in language learning. At some point, you suddenly realize that you have entered the language and you are operating in it without reference to your first or habitual language - you get a glimpse of the world of the native speaker. It's a liminal experience, but a very significant event in the learning process. It cannot be taught. Mathematics is very similar to natural language as a rule-based, closed, self-referential system that is rooted in human creativitiy and also emerges from the natural world.
I'm a non traditional mathematics student. Work full time and come home to spend hours sitting on a chair doing problems over and over again for hours on end. Have a few classes left. Most stress I've ever experience but will tell you that I am up for challenges in my career and life. My approach to problems and coming up with better ways has improved dramatically. This is a great video. It is refreshing to hear someone's take on the subject. Will look for this book. Thank you for sharing!
0:39 Self-Intro 1:20 Why did you decide to study math? 3:01 What's single most important thing that a math major should focus on? 4:06 Tell us about the book "All the Math You Missed" 6:45 How to write proofs (to be mathematically mature, not a linear process but like a stepping function, keep pounding your head against it and you will be there, some wonderful moment! Here's another link on this topic by Prof. Thomas Garrity ua-cam.com/video/zHU1xH6Ogs4/v-deo.html) 12:10 General advices for math students 13:32 What's your research area and why did you choose it? (multi-dimensional continued fraction: another way to express real numbers besides decimal expansion, it is really cool! And it turns some junk form in decimal expansion like a square root into a pretty pattern. So what about cube roots? It mixes all kinds of areas of mathematics.) 20:49 Career advice for math students (pragmatic concerns should never stop your math development.) 22:19 Anything to share with the UA-cam audience? (Two different kinds of mathematicians: theorem builder (the story) and problem solver (the craft). High school overwhelmingly focus on problem solving. But the story is not there. Try to both find the stories and work on the craft. 23:56 Wrap up. 24:24 BUY THE BOOK! :) I am too sleepy and will fill out the rest tmr. --- Now done!
MathSorcerer, you are the gift that keeps on giving! You helped me get into graduate school, and now as I’m starting grad school you post this amazing video! You’re always one step ahead of me, you really are a sorcerer!
I like the end where he talked about the need for both the story and the craft of doing mathematics. Humans are inherently creatures that love stories, and there is a lot to be told in mathematics. When math is presented in such a way, with both the story and the craft of it, it becomes beautiful.
"Why isn't everybody? It's the ultimate structure of reality." This is why I want to learn math. My math is so poor, I took the easiest classes in high school and I'm now deeply regretting it. Hoping to find time as an adult through basic high school math to more advanced topics. Not sure how I'm going to do it, kind of discouraged, but I would really love to be a confident mathematician.
Dude, you're singin' my song 🤧But here I am trying to get into the USAF so I can have school paid for after I'm out. I want to be an Aerospace Engineer either working on F-35s or on the F-135 engines. Wishing you the best 🙏
Mathematics truely unlocked so much of my knowledge in the computer science field of which I study, without mathetics, tech is useless. The logical foundation is priceless.
Okay. I have to say this. This video was absolutely awesome. These are the things no one ever talks about and before finding your channel I was in the dark about a whole lot of mathematics. Thank you very much :)
The thing I remember with proofs is the way I thought about them was rarely the way they were written down in on the page. There's always a conversion process in my head going between a visual heuristic that makes intuitive sense as the main "trick" to complete the proof, and the more rigorous logic that ties all the loose ends together on paper. That's how it was with real analysis anyways. I'm very visual/spatial, and more advanced texts don't usually take up valuable space with pictures, which is intimidating at first when you don't even have a firm grasp on what the definitions mean in a more concrete context. The general notion of topological spaces defined by how unions and intersections of open and closed sets behave is cool to me and gives a useful pattern of how limit proofs can work in general, in a very abstract bare-bones way, but I always go back to visualizing open/closed intervals on the real line (or balls on the 2D plane) for guidance.
Was struggling with Riemann...but after watching this video i got motivated and starting reading and doing Qs even if i didnt understand anything.Then suddenly everything has started falling in place just like he said....Thank you sooo much
I found about this book on this video and just bought it. As a former physics student and starting a phd in mathematical physics, it helps fillings those holes in my education and made me understand the ideas of categories very quickly. I recommend to every person in a situation similar to mine.
This is dope!!! I really enjoyed his energy and enthusiasm for math!!! Although I don’t teach it anymore, I plan to continually be a problem solver and hopefully become good enough to be a “storyteller.” 😁👍 Do more of these interviews!!!
I really love the part where he got the enlightenment to write proof.This shows how maths develops our brain and make it powerful. Now i understand the 'my brain is open' by paul erdos.
Former physics student, now math student here (undergraduate). Just 3 minutes in, and his steps to get on the glorious path of mathematics are exactly mine. Wow, I guess mathematicians are born that way 😄
I have Professor Garrity's book and concur with his veneration of Spivak Calculus. Your discussion of the transition to theorem-proof mathematics was especially interesting because I completed my undergraduate degree in times far enough removed that courses designed to help students learn to write proofs were not yet in vogue. Consequently, I had no such course. However, I was doggedly persistent in extracting the gist of it from the textbooks, and I made the transition to group theory, real analysis, topology, and the rest with little stress. In fact, despite the dire warnings from my faculty advisor that real analysis was a "watershed course," I finished with a straight 100 average for the semester despite struggling with a protracted case of mononucleosis. The more "abstract math" courses were actually to my liking, though I admit a continued fondness for solving Putnam Exam and IMO questions recreationally even now, at age 68. A life spent with mathematics is one richly lived.
The great man he mentioned, Dr. Chike Obi, is like a mythological figure in the Nigerian educational system. Before now I thought he was only known in Nigeria, as school kids, we had something like a folk song, about him.
that "something happens" at 11:43 is the keyword here. For me it was a ankle fracture which made me read the only book i had at high school and after that there was no going back
Dr. Garrity's experience is a lot like mine in that it seemed instantaneous when the math you're reading finally makes sense, but he doesn't articulate the "why" completely which might lead some to believe it's miraculous when it's not. He immersed himself in the subject and was subconciously working out problems in his head. Most of use know what that's like when we've crammed for an upcoming exam. Becoming mathematically mature happens like that when you immerse your self in whatever books you're trying to read and internalize. It's your brain working overtime because you're oversaturating it with math. This is how we math people conquer new areas of mathematics. Just immerse yourself in it. You'll never learn it if you give a shallow attempt at it every once in a while.
is there a certain algorithm for the immersion you are talking about? because I am trying to understand proofs right now. But so far I just do not grasp the whole concept of how this system of proofs is interlocked.
@FlyingMonkies325 I didn’t mean cramming, per se, though sometimes that’s when it can happen. Keep a study schedule and be consistent about it. Read many books of the content you are interesting in learning to get more than one perspective.
Hello! I am new to this CH and I just subscribed because i'm 27, I have 3 lil one that push me to become a better for them. I've been chipping away at general ed in college and now I am facing the math part of it. I am completely nervous but determined to learn math as it will get me into a career that I will be fulfilled with be a part of. Thanks for this video as it gives me some motivation to learn math and keep learning what math is all about! thank you!!!
This is exactly how I would describe my approach to math and proofs...continuously pounding my head until suddenly it all makes sense. Also, I absolutely agree with what he said at the end that we should strive to not just know the craft and but also the story, as I think that provides a ton of inspiration when actually doing the craft.
That epiphany that I get when realize something that i've been crunching in my brain for days, is why I am working on being a mathematician. I have found very few things that I get a sense of passion for. Math has been one of those few things. I'm glad I found your videos.
The story part makes maths more interesting, like Thomas said, there is lack of story lower grades and too much craft. Thank you for the wonderful interview!
Coool. Just bought his new book. I’m surprised he didn’t have more to say about career advice, but I’m glad he was honest (rather than just making something up).
This was awesome thank you for these videos. I actually disliked math quite a bit when I was younger but the past few months I’ve been studying on my own and watching your videos which has been a great experience
I’ve been looking for a term for this. I’ve been teaching math for the better part of 15 years and I think the biggest issue students have with solving problems is the approach that they’re taking to them. Everybody’s trying to remember the steps or the formula how to do a specific type of question. They’re not trying to understand what’s being asked in order to try to figure that out based on what they’re given. Ive been calling it “thinking THROUGH the question”. He’s describing exactly what I’m talking about
I don't know if it was intentional, it seems to be the case, but at first I read "a mathless Brain is a depressed Brain" and it rhymes with "pain" haha, then I saw your name! Haha nice
@FlyingMonkies325 I forgot that young people also are learning math :) Good note taking strategies will take you far! I never had those, I just remembered everything until calculus. It didn't get hard till I started taking notes haha.
I highly agree that most math education in schools is all about the method, they so shyly run over the story of things. So you find yourself have to solve equations over equations without knowing the 'WHY?'
@@TheMathSorcerer Sir, which author has written the better book for self-study of calculus (I don't mind buying a different book for multivariable calculus if I have too) : Jerome Kaisler vs James Stewart vs Morris Kline ?
22:39 super super thanks a lot for the following part. I am a "story behind" person as well. And i didnt know this way of categorisation. But it was bugging me, i knew something was missing. Thanks for highlighting that high schools/colleges put more attention of "the craft" and people get turned off by it. Definitely resonated with me. Here's a techer who just uttered formulae in 2 lectures, without any story, and finished multivariable calculus _and_ vector calculus just like that - in total two lectures/3 hours (one lecture/1.5 hours each). I was very discouraged. But thanks, you words of recognition helped me. Also thanks for reminding that both are important. I used to do both when in school, but since in college, there has been just Sooooo much to do and learn, that i cant really manage to keep up. I am trying hard to keep up, to manage stuff, but it just doesnt seem to be adding up.
This book (first edition) is great for revision of undergraduate maths and fortunately, I am getting admission in Graduate Mathematics (MSc). And this is really helpful thanks.
First of all. Fantastic book. Secondly, the struggle is real. We had baby Rudin. That might as well have been written in Chinese when we started the class. But we all developed extremely far by the end.
I just donated to your site. I enjoy your videos and I watch them with my teen kids (one in college). I enjoyed this interview and I purchased the book. TY for the links and your passion.
The 'ultimate structure of reality' is a good way of putting it, also heard it as 'a mind independent reality.' Hypergeometric universe theory seems to be a step in the right direction for physics, philosophy and science.
I'm going to laugh my ass off if all the grand unifying theories of physics are correct and in its essence say the same but from a different perspective / approach.
Thanks for doing this very cool interview format video, I think you should reach out to other influential figures in the realm of mathmatica and continue on this theme. I also wanted to say thanks to you personally, you have truly inspired me on my recent math journey. I am just getting into intermediate Algebra at age 51 and I find myself enjoying it and I am at the tutoring center several days a week just to stay on top of my game. Also you had done some videos on book reviews and extolled the virtues of building a math book collection....I know have 6 math books. One of them a very cool book on statistics from the late 50's with a students hand written notes and formulas throughout, super cool book to have in any collection. Thanks for all the time you spend making these videos, very much grateful...
What is a good book on understanding the purpose of limits in a really meaningful way? Really enjoyed the interview and your questioning his answers, very insightful.
What if I want to be a professional mathematician? Can you do a video on what are good habits for math majors if they want to be professional mathematicians, mostly in research, but also in the private sector?
Make sure to do research with one or two of your professors in undergrad. This does two things: (1) you learn basic research methodologies under someone who knows better than you, (2) if you end up applying for grad school, these professors can write recommendation letters for you because they have seen you do research. Now obviously do research with the professors you had high level math classes with like real analysis, linear algebra, etc. and make sure to do well in them!
Video suggestion, overview videos to different branches of mathematics. Let's say topology, what is it about, it's different parts algebraic, differential and geometric topology. etc
Been seeing your thumbnails for months now, but, for some reason, I wouldn't click on any of them. Maybe I wasn't ready. Just started re-studying my year 2 curriculum because I want to return to college next academic year (2022). I've been on a break for a year now, and was discouraged because I just about scraped through year 2 (actually pulled out of abstract algebra since it would have been a disaster). Your content seems to be exactly what I need for my preparation to return to year 3 with an effective strategy and approach.
I think I'm at just barely a high enough level of mathematical maturity to not feel like an imposter :) Math is hard, I love it, and I think I will read this book.
I am a 28 year old high school drop out, I started doing math as a hobby while I was in my early 20's and I am 2 years into a math degree in college now. I wish there were more interviews about people who do math who didn't start when they were 14. I haven't ever seen one.
👍
@@theophrastusvonhoenheim4022 Good for you and your hard work. You got this!
Brother, your story is very similar to mine.
I'm also a hs drop out and atm I'm 31 and studying math to sit exams that will hopefully get me into college. I feel like I'm starting my life again, in a way.
Theres a series that has a bunch of people who found math in different ways! I think it is called Paths to Math
I'm a engineering student but every single video of yours I watch I'm more interested in go deeper and deeper in math
Lol same
@Fre Joorfelgen sim kkk acho que meu nome entregou
I did Chem Engineering 25 years ago. I would always suggest if your as described to a Maths major then an Engineering masters.
Same here!
Maybe you should quit the fraternity , lose the horse head , and put the bottle down.....
"Math is really hard, but I think most things that are worthwhile are hard."
This came up randomly after watching another Math Sorcerer video, so I'll comment on it two years later because I have this book and am working through it.
I am an electrical engineer, so my Math department math ended with Calculus/DiffEq and Linear Algebra (and one proofs class as a prereq for a CS course). So I missed out on the higher mathematics courses that are less applicable to engineering. Even if I do grad school, it will be an MSEE and I won't have an excuse to take more math courses.
This book is really good at giving you an overview that is a little deeper than the "Learn X in Y minutes" UA-cam videos. I'm not likely to go through a whole textbook on a field I'm just curious about. But this book gives you the basic theorems that will give you a good taste of it to whet your appetite. Each chapter ends with a list of recommended books to learn more.
This is a book that really fills a gap that I don't think any other book does and it does it well.
When I saw the Roman aqueducts for the first time, it gave me a huge insight. Those structures are physical examples of hydrostatics, fluid dynamics, gravity as a source of energy and as a force, civil and mechanical engineering, architecture, and craftsmanship. None of the people who did any of that work had a college degree, never took any STEM courses. Yet, they created a system of water delivery that functions thousands of years later.
The insight was that you must understand concepts before ever taking on problems. As Dr. Garriity points out, why is any of this necessary. For the Romans, a way of getting water where it needed to be was why they needed to know all aspects of aqueduct building. They learned as they went, trial and error, until they saw how the physical world works. Centuries later, Bernoulli codified the math, but the Romans didn't need any of that to get things done. That underscored that anyone put aside the theorems, formulas, proofs, and calculations aside until the concepts and the "why" were understood...
They had schools for engineering and rhetoric you know. It's not true that they never attended school, just that something approaching our university programs didn't quite exist yet. You would learn counting maths for arithmetic and cencus/business math separately from your rhetoric as a poor person but the builders and engineers of Rome would have learned that and started some sort of apprenticeship anywhere from 7 to 8 years of age. It's a heuristic loop most anti-college pro trade school/self teaching types like to trot out without realizing or recognizing the depth and relative similarities and simplicity with which people recieve all different kinds of education nowadays. This is not to say self directed learning is bad or that causal experience and trial and error weren't part of the Roman school/engineering experience but it's a survivorship bias as well that makes us look at one schools or truly apprenticeship skilled method of building aqueducts that then leads people to assume "no schooling was required and they still did a better job. " At best, we can infer that they may or may not have attended a trade school with some basic Euclidean geometry with "string theory " (and by that I mean, conjecturing and measuring alignments using basic geometry derived from triangulation and measurement with string,compass, plumb bob, and angles) to figure out alignment, standard cuts,lengths, and building material quality. Things like checking cement materials, density,and setting time alongside local geography, means of what survives, they either got lucky, planned the building site well, and only slightly avoided material pillaging or earthquakes. Back then for all the engineering robustness they still attributed earthquakes to gods getting angry and turning the world around like a snow globe. The concept of thermodynamics and geology and chemistry certainly wasn't possible with the type of knowledge and models they had back then.
"the ultimate description of reality"
"I'm Not a young person and I still learn math everyday"
Most great what said..👍🏻👌🏻🌹
I’m now almost 65 years old and always was kinda interested in math. Used to be good at it, but never studied it seriously. Been following you for some time and recently ordered the book you mentioned. Now that I saw this interview I’m really going to spend one or two hours every day to read and study the book. Especially Fournier analysis intrigued me, so I may end up studying that in more detail. Thank you for taking the time to make this very interesting and entertaining video. Also special thanks to professor Garrity to take the time for this interview.
This epiphany that Garrity is talking about around 11:30 is common in learning complex systems. I'm a linguist, not a mathematician, and this sudden convergence of understanding is pretty common in language learning. At some point, you suddenly realize that you have entered the language and you are operating in it without reference to your first or habitual language - you get a glimpse of the world of the native speaker. It's a liminal experience, but a very significant event in the learning process. It cannot be taught. Mathematics is very similar to natural language as a rule-based, closed, self-referential system that is rooted in human creativitiy and also emerges from the natural world.
As a lost physics major, I found this video so inspiring and enlightening. Thank you.
I'm a non traditional mathematics student. Work full time and come home to spend hours sitting on a chair doing problems over and over again for hours on end. Have a few classes left. Most stress I've ever experience but will tell you that I am up for challenges in my career and life. My approach to problems and coming up with better ways has improved dramatically. This is a great video. It is refreshing to hear someone's take on the subject. Will look for this book. Thank you for sharing!
0:39 Self-Intro
1:20 Why did you decide to study math?
3:01 What's single most important thing that a math major should focus on?
4:06 Tell us about the book "All the Math You Missed"
6:45 How to write proofs (to be mathematically mature, not a linear process but like a stepping function, keep pounding your head against it and you will be there, some wonderful moment! Here's another link on this topic by Prof. Thomas Garrity ua-cam.com/video/zHU1xH6Ogs4/v-deo.html)
12:10 General advices for math students
13:32 What's your research area and why did you choose it? (multi-dimensional continued fraction: another way to express real numbers besides decimal expansion, it is really cool! And it turns some junk form in decimal expansion like a square root into a pretty pattern. So what about cube roots? It mixes all kinds of areas of mathematics.)
20:49 Career advice for math students (pragmatic concerns should never stop your math development.)
22:19 Anything to share with the UA-cam audience? (Two different kinds of mathematicians: theorem builder (the story) and problem solver (the craft). High school overwhelmingly focus on problem solving. But the story is not there. Try to both find the stories and work on the craft.
23:56 Wrap up.
24:24 BUY THE BOOK! :)
I am too sleepy and will fill out the rest tmr. --- Now done!
Thank You!
MathSorcerer, you are the gift that keeps on giving! You helped me get into graduate school, and now as I’m starting grad school you post this amazing video! You’re always one step ahead of me, you really are a sorcerer!
I like the end where he talked about the need for both the story and the craft of doing mathematics. Humans are inherently creatures that love stories, and there is a lot to be told in mathematics. When math is presented in such a way, with both the story and the craft of it, it becomes beautiful.
Yes!
"Why isn't everybody? It's the ultimate structure of reality." This is why I want to learn math. My math is so poor, I took the easiest classes in high school and I'm now deeply regretting it. Hoping to find time as an adult through basic high school math to more advanced topics. Not sure how I'm going to do it, kind of discouraged, but I would really love to be a confident mathematician.
Dude, you're singin' my song 🤧But here I am trying to get into the USAF so I can have school paid for after I'm out. I want to be an Aerospace Engineer either working on F-35s or on the F-135 engines. Wishing you the best 🙏
Mathematics truely unlocked so much of my knowledge in the computer science field of which I study, without mathetics, tech is useless. The logical foundation is priceless.
wow hes so humble, and i can relate to that assignment struggle at the start
He is so passionate about this. What an upstanding man.
Okay. I have to say this. This video was absolutely awesome. These are the things no one ever talks about and before finding your channel I was in the dark about a whole lot of mathematics. Thank you very much :)
👍
The thing I remember with proofs is the way I thought about them was rarely the way they were written down in on the page. There's always a conversion process in my head going between a visual heuristic that makes intuitive sense as the main "trick" to complete the proof, and the more rigorous logic that ties all the loose ends together on paper. That's how it was with real analysis anyways. I'm very visual/spatial, and more advanced texts don't usually take up valuable space with pictures, which is intimidating at first when you don't even have a firm grasp on what the definitions mean in a more concrete context. The general notion of topological spaces defined by how unions and intersections of open and closed sets behave is cool to me and gives a useful pattern of how limit proofs can work in general, in a very abstract bare-bones way, but I always go back to visualizing open/closed intervals on the real line (or balls on the 2D plane) for guidance.
Was struggling with Riemann...but after watching this video i got motivated and starting reading and doing Qs even if i didnt understand anything.Then suddenly everything has started falling in place just like he said....Thank you sooo much
That’s awesome and inspires me to tackle Riemann again
I found about this book on this video and just bought it. As a former physics student and starting a phd in mathematical physics, it helps fillings those holes in my education and made me understand the ideas of categories very quickly. I recommend to every person in a situation similar to mine.
This is dope!!! I really enjoyed his energy and enthusiasm for math!!! Although I don’t teach it anymore, I plan to continually be a problem solver and hopefully become good enough to be a “storyteller.” 😁👍
Do more of these interviews!!!
I really love the part where he got the enlightenment to write proof.This shows how maths develops our brain and make it powerful. Now i understand the 'my brain is open' by paul erdos.
Former physics student, now math student here (undergraduate). Just 3 minutes in, and his steps to get on the glorious path of mathematics are exactly mine. Wow, I guess mathematicians are born that way 😄
His enthusiasm is contagious!
I have Professor Garrity's book and concur with his veneration of Spivak Calculus. Your discussion of the transition to theorem-proof mathematics was especially interesting because I completed my undergraduate degree in times far enough removed that courses designed to help students learn to write proofs were not yet in vogue. Consequently, I had no such course. However, I was doggedly persistent in extracting the gist of it from the textbooks, and I made the transition to group theory, real analysis, topology, and the rest with little stress. In fact, despite the dire warnings from my faculty advisor that real analysis was a "watershed course," I finished with a straight 100 average for the semester despite struggling with a protracted case of mononucleosis. The more "abstract math" courses were actually to my liking, though I admit a continued fondness for solving Putnam Exam and IMO questions recreationally even now, at age 68. A life spent with mathematics is one richly lived.
The great man he mentioned, Dr. Chike Obi, is like a mythological figure in the Nigerian educational system. Before now I thought he was only known in Nigeria, as school kids, we had something like a folk song, about him.
that "something happens" at 11:43 is the keyword here. For me it was a ankle fracture which made me read the only book i had at high school and after that there was no going back
Dr. Garrity's experience is a lot like mine in that it seemed instantaneous when the math you're reading finally makes sense, but he doesn't articulate the "why" completely which might lead some to believe it's miraculous when it's not. He immersed himself in the subject and was subconciously working out problems in his head. Most of use know what that's like when we've crammed for an upcoming exam. Becoming mathematically mature happens like that when you immerse your self in whatever books you're trying to read and internalize. It's your brain working overtime because you're oversaturating it with math. This is how we math people conquer new areas of mathematics. Just immerse yourself in it. You'll never learn it if you give a shallow attempt at it every once in a while.
The similarity with learning languages is big.
@@CrisOnTheInternet you mean like it could be just like learning a language ??
is there a certain algorithm for the immersion you are talking about? because I am trying to understand proofs right now. But so far I just do not grasp the whole concept of how this system of proofs is interlocked.
@@aneeqaahmad6927 I mean that a language makes more sense when you inmerse and understand the whys
@FlyingMonkies325 I didn’t mean cramming, per se, though sometimes that’s when it can happen. Keep a study schedule and be consistent about it. Read many books of the content you are interesting in learning to get more than one perspective.
This is one of the most useful videos for Math Students on UA-cam.
Hello! I am new to this CH and I just subscribed because i'm 27, I have 3 lil one that push me to become a better for them. I've been chipping away at general ed in college and now I am facing the math part of it. I am completely nervous but determined to learn math as it will get me into a career that I will be fulfilled with be a part of. Thanks for this video as it gives me some motivation to learn math and keep learning what math is all about!
thank you!!!
Welcome!! That is awesome that you are back in school. Great stuff, thank you for your comment!!
🙌🏾 Love his book and it was you who convinced me to get it! 🙌🏾
Yeah great
Just came into an engineering PhD as a pure biology background and this was exactly what I needed! Thank you.
This is exactly how I would describe my approach to math and proofs...continuously pounding my head until suddenly it all makes sense. Also, I absolutely agree with what he said at the end that we should strive to not just know the craft and but also the story, as I think that provides a ton of inspiration when actually doing the craft.
What lovely men making an Abstract Subject come alive ❤
I haven’t watched all of it yet but so far your questions are really good. You should do more interviews!
That epiphany that I get when realize something that i've been crunching in my brain for days, is why I am working on being a mathematician. I have found very few things that I get a sense of passion for. Math has been one of those few things. I'm glad I found your videos.
The story part makes maths more interesting, like Thomas said, there is lack of story lower grades and too much craft.
Thank you for the wonderful interview!
Coool. Just bought his new book. I’m surprised he didn’t have more to say about career advice, but I’m glad he was honest (rather than just making something up).
The greatest teachers are storytellers.
Struggling with real analysis your vids give me hope n motivation and results
This was awesome thank you for these videos. I actually disliked math quite a bit when I was younger but the past few months I’ve been studying on my own and watching your videos which has been a great experience
I could listen to this guy all day, he's great hahaha
Great man. He has bless our generation with is talent and skills. He has really inspired me a lot to start my maths and science channel.
I’ve been looking for a term for this. I’ve been teaching math for the better part of 15 years and I think the biggest issue students have with solving problems is the approach that they’re taking to them. Everybody’s trying to remember the steps or the formula how to do a specific type of question. They’re not trying to understand what’s being asked in order to try to figure that out based on what they’re given. Ive been calling it “thinking THROUGH the question”. He’s describing exactly what I’m talking about
I love math I admire individuals that love math as well. I had a great math teacher in college.
This is literally the book I've been looking for for the past two years! I can hardly wait for it to get here so I can dive in.
Who gave this a thumbs down?! This was a great interview!
Absorbing 👏🔥 yas. Story is so often missing ! Will buy the book!
So Inspiring, thank you
Math is PAIN, but then it is also euphorbia. A mathless Brien is a depressed Brien.
It's a packaged deal. You have to have the pain to get to the euphoria. :-)
Agreed
@buzz magister I can edit the typo in I'll just lose the heart, want me to?
I don't know if it was intentional, it seems to be the case, but at first I read "a mathless Brain is a depressed Brain" and it rhymes with "pain" haha, then I saw your name! Haha nice
@FlyingMonkies325 I forgot that young people also are learning math :) Good note taking strategies will take you far! I never had those, I just remembered everything until calculus. It didn't get hard till I started taking notes haha.
I highly agree that most math education in schools is all about the method, they so shyly run over the story of things. So you find yourself have to solve equations over equations without knowing the 'WHY?'
I actually bought the book after watching your video about it!
I bought this book after your review and watching Dr. Garrity's "On Mathematical Maturity" video on UA-cam. Love this interview.
The Math sorcerer really looks like Albrecht Dürer, especially his hairs shimmering in the light
This is just what I needed these days. Great, man!
I bought the book after you made the video and now it’s my favorite book.
My left ear liked this video
No pain , no gain . So true with Maths
Thank you for the DESCRIPTIVE TITLE. Of course every math student will watch YOU'RE THE MATH SORCERER!
He is really inspiring.
Yes, I think so too!!!!!!!!
Very inspiring
@@TheMathSorcerer Sir, which author has written the better book for self-study of calculus (I don't mind buying a different book for multivariable calculus if I have too) :
Jerome Kaisler vs James Stewart vs Morris Kline ?
22:39 super super thanks a lot for the following part. I am a "story behind" person as well. And i didnt know this way of categorisation. But it was bugging me, i knew something was missing.
Thanks for highlighting that high schools/colleges put more attention of "the craft" and people get turned off by it. Definitely resonated with me.
Here's a techer who just uttered formulae in 2 lectures, without any story, and finished multivariable calculus _and_ vector calculus just like that - in total two lectures/3 hours (one lecture/1.5 hours each). I was very discouraged.
But thanks, you words of recognition helped me.
Also thanks for reminding that both are important. I used to do both when in school, but since in college, there has been just Sooooo much to do and learn, that i cant really manage to keep up. I am trying hard to keep up, to manage stuff, but it just doesnt seem to be adding up.
After watching that video, I’ve bought the book
This book (first edition) is great for revision of undergraduate maths and fortunately, I am getting admission in Graduate Mathematics (MSc). And this is really helpful thanks.
First of all. Fantastic book. Secondly, the struggle is real. We had baby Rudin. That might as well have been written in Chinese when we started the class. But we all developed extremely far by the end.
The more math is painful, The more exciting it is.
my left ear enjoyed the podcast.
A college English graduate school prof always told us "it's hard because it's hard."
👍
Oh wow, I actually just purchased this book before having seen this video! Neat!
Great interview. Honest outlook, which I appreciate.
👍👍
Thomas Garrity's edge is definitely in math's storytelling. :)
I know he's awesome!!!!!!!!
Thank you for the interview
I just donated to your site. I enjoy your videos and I watch them with my teen kids (one in college). I enjoyed this interview and I purchased the book. TY for the links and your passion.
The 'ultimate structure of reality' is a good way of putting it, also heard it as 'a mind independent reality.' Hypergeometric universe theory seems to be a step in the right direction for physics, philosophy and science.
I'm going to laugh my ass off if all the grand unifying theories of physics are correct and in its essence say the same but from a different perspective / approach.
One of my favourite people...Really great author and also his talk on mathematical maturity has impacted the way I look at maths
I love eccentric mathematicians. 😀Thanks for this video. Best wishes Tom.
Which mathematicians are not eccentric ?
@@HowardARoark
Thanks for doing this very cool interview format video, I think you should reach out to other influential figures in the realm of mathmatica and continue on this theme.
I also wanted to say thanks to you personally, you have truly inspired me on my recent math journey. I am just getting into intermediate Algebra at age 51 and I find myself enjoying it and I am at the tutoring center several days a week just to stay on top of my game. Also you had done some videos on book reviews and extolled the virtues of building a math book collection....I know have 6 math books. One of them a very cool book on statistics from the late 50's with a students hand written notes and formulas throughout, super cool book to have in any collection.
Thanks for all the time you spend making these videos, very much grateful...
Despite the click baiting headline, I loved this video. Thanks for click baiting me into watching it. I have learned to love Big Brother.
I am ordering this book right now from Amazon, and hope to start going through it as soon as I receive it.
Amazon shipped the book right away and I received it within one day.
How was it
This was an excellent video! I like this format and would recommend you trying this more often (given the opportunity!)
thank you for your wonderful way of making math easier and interesting
This is awesome!!
What is a good book on understanding the purpose of limits in a really meaningful way? Really enjoyed the interview and your questioning his answers, very insightful.
Great video! I would love to see another interview with a mathematician.
A great vid as always
What if I want to be a professional mathematician? Can you do a video on what are good habits for math majors if they want to be professional mathematicians, mostly in research, but also in the private sector?
Make sure to do research with one or two of your professors in undergrad. This does two things: (1) you learn basic research methodologies under someone who knows better than you, (2) if you end up applying for grad school, these professors can write recommendation letters for you because they have seen you do research. Now obviously do research with the professors you had high level math classes with like real analysis, linear algebra, etc. and make sure to do well in them!
@@paul5324 Thank you, I'll look do this in the future for sure. I appreciate the clear and straight forward advice.
Great interview. A pleasure to watch it. I have the first edition which I purchased after seeing your review.
Video suggestion, overview videos to different branches of mathematics. Let's say topology, what is it about, it's different parts algebraic, differential and geometric topology. etc
Been seeing your thumbnails for months now, but, for some reason, I wouldn't click on any of them. Maybe I wasn't ready.
Just started re-studying my year 2 curriculum because I want to return to college next academic year (2022).
I've been on a break for a year now, and was discouraged because I just about scraped through year 2 (actually pulled out of abstract algebra since it would have been a disaster).
Your content seems to be exactly what I need for my preparation to return to year 3 with an effective strategy and approach.
thank you so much Thomas Garrity, my left ear appreaciated it
This was great and what an honest guy.
Wonderful, thank you!
yeah thinking of reading of this awesome book
I think I'm at just barely a high enough level of mathematical maturity to not feel like an imposter :) Math is hard, I love it, and I think I will read this book.
Great interview!
I always knew David Bowie was a great musician but clearly I didn't realize just how great.
who is also willing to buy this book after watching this interview
This was interesting, I wish he had a white board to show us the problem of the cube root and other interesting 💡
This video has been beyond inspiring, love these type of videos!
Go Ephs! Class of 1992 graduate here.