A math major talks about fear

As I'm entering the last year (Finally! Woohoo!) of my undergrad degree in mathematics, I'm thinking more and more of the people I know who have tried to convince me that there was never any hope for them in math - these are some of the most creative and brilliant people I know, but instead of seeing mathematics as something they could master, they see it as a curse.

This makes me sad.

I mean that. It makes me sad. Because many of these people have given up on their childhood dreams of working in robotics or space sciences or design because they had been convinced that they just didn't have the "gift" of understanding math. Because some of these people are still children, and it breaks my heart to see them defeated unnecessarily.

Because I was almost defeated by these attitudes myself.

Because I believe that STEM fields benefit from the inclusion of people with "non-traditional" backgrounds, and I cringe when I see people justify keeping them out. And I cringe when I see people justify keeping themselves out.

And I know (boy, do I know) that feeling like a failure in math does not mean you are a failure in math.

You just don't understand it yet . (Yet!)

And so these are my rambling words of encouragement. There will be more.

[drewm.]

The main thing that triggers my anxiety is when I see my classmates immediately understanding shit and answer things correctly and I just sit there like a confused potato.

[sliderBro]

I hate it when people say: I'm not that type; I'm "creative".

[SaskatoonSquire]

I actually tutor for the SAT, and I was asked to go tutor a girl the other day who had been working with a different tutor for a few months. This girl had very much bought into the idea that she wasn't smart enough to do math, and she tended to freeze on the practice tests. She was actually a lot more competent than she thought she was, but this other tutor completely reinforced her bad attitude. I was absolutely heartbroken when her major comment about me was, "You don't make me feel stupid."

[LookingGlassUniverse]

I'm a math major and I laughed at the reactions you say you get- I get those same ones! The worst is "I'm not a math person". Funny cos neither was I, I almost dropped maths at highschool. Another is, maths isnt creative. I've found that this isn't true at all.. I sort of wish math wasn't taught in school or that it wasn't taught anything like it is. People don't hate maths, they hate what they think it is from years or tedious torture.

[mechanicalorchards]

I have come to love math. As a programmer, for the longest time I DID NOT know much math at all. Barely arithmetic to be honest. I had to improvise without knowing much math. Just recently I have decided to drop everything and focus on math as MUCH as I can. The sheer usefulness of each little scrap of knowledge that I am able to place into the bigger picture is astonishing. Like how the midpoint formula can be converted into a lerp function so easily. Math is SO powerful, the things that can be learned and analyzed with it truly stuns me.

Though I'm just working my way through algebra, math is so exciting.

[MaxwellsWitch]

I used to say I got friendzoned by math, but then I realized I get fucked by it everyday.

[DouglasHPlumb]

Studying hard things like math and philosophy can make you funnier

[latashawilliams]

I absolutely love this. You are preaching to the choir. Math is so cool but most people never get to experience. You are 100% correct, comparing yourself to other people is the worst thing anyone could do. Math is not a speeding contest. You have to find your rhythm. Once you get that down, you will be unstoppable.

[samsquanch]

I have always been bad at math, I want to be good at it, lately I've been practicing it on my own, I'm trying to learn it, and this video boosted my confidence so much!

[michellebailey]

By now you've graduated! But this message lives on and inspires. I am showing this to my math intervention students during the first week of school.

[joshuafurtado]

I was a math major the same time you were. I heard a lot of these. I tutored for years and many students loved how much I helped them. I had a student who struggled with her GRE, scoring a 25. I helped her, and got her to score a 43. She was so excited. I love teaching math and I use your video in all my 8th grade classes (I teach 8th - Calculus) and they feel better knowing I'm not the only one who is encouraging and knows the struggle they are facing. I tell them I failed classes in college, and that's okay. I am still trying to convince them there is not a level they are supposed to be at by a certain grade because I have 9th grade Pre-Algebra students who feel they should be in IM-1 with their friends. Thank you for this video, it's extremely helpful.

[ThuyNguyen-buge]

Thank you, your words are so inspiring, I wish this video was played at the beginning of every high school math class.  Math is supposed to be hard, that's what makes it fun - a brain teaser, a challenge.  Don't be afraid of not getting an A in your math course, be afraid of not trying to solve those problems and thus never realizing how much you enjoy those challenges.

[sgtcojonez]

I am playing this video again in order to find the motivation to do my Topology homework.

[michaeltaylor]

I show this video to my math classes every year (sometimes more than once to remind them.) They make so many connections - ESPECIALLY the female students. Their reaction to see a young lady as a mathematician is amazing. Thank you for posting this!

[ThatAnnoyingINTJKid]

this video is so on point, I'm going into my last year of my undergrad degree in math.
Great video :) 

I usually just try to explain that math is a language, and the only way a person learns to express ideas in a foreign language is through practice, and also that I would hope they're not going to hold me to the standard they hold themselves at in their language of specialty, just like I'm not going to expect a random person to be as fluent in a language I've worked my ass off studying.

[dgchapman]

I absolutely love this video. Every year I show this video to my students and I encoourage them to create small goals mathematical goals for themselves that doesn't have anything to do with grades. Thank you, your words have encouraged countless young minds that they can do math.

[AshleysLand]

I understood calc 1 in the middle of my semester in Calc 2 LMAOOO

[MistressGlowWorm]

This is truly insightful! Interesting how many of our math fears and anxiety are expressed in the beginning of the video well broken down concerning the poetry analogy. The most important thing that stuck out with me is not to compare ourselves to our classmates to seem to have it all together! There is an old expression that goes "Comparison is the thief of joy" and it truly is! We must consider all backgrounds, but Math is a journey (besides a skill). It's up to us to explore and go on this adventure. We have no time to worry about other people's side quests when we have our own adventures and journeys to go on.

[adamwatkins]

Thanks Mathematigal, I needed that pep talk.

[fabioarangio]

ciao Mathematigal, I showed your video today in both the self-promotion and the creative thinking classes I teach here in Florence (Italy) at an internationa design academy. It's been litterally a lesson in the lesson ;-) Students loved it. Thank you for posting this perfect speech, it made a difference today.