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blueranger9 's review for:
The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity
by Steven Strogatz
"In mathematics our freedom lies in the questions we ask -and in how we pursue them- but not in the answers awaiting us."
I wanted to like this book, I really did-for many reasons, not least of which because Strogatz is a professor at my alma mater. Unfortunately, the book never quite accomplished what it set out to do with me.
I have always done well in math, even if I never fully understood the intricacies of each topic. I believe in the beauty of mathematics. I have told my own students time and again that math is not about numbers, it's about ways of thinking, and I love that Strogatz believes it, understands it, and wants to show others the inherent beauty and elegance in math. I'm sad to say he just didn't reach me. Perhaps someone else might read this and say, "Aha! It clicked!" I'm just broken hearted it wasn't me because for the life of me I couldn't tell you where exactly he lost me. It seems like one of those subjects where it's so simple I SHOULD grasp it, but it eludes me. And it is with that that I went from lamenting not having taken his class at Cornell, to thanking God I didn't because I surely would have failed. I felt like Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory, wrapping candy as the conveyor belt progressively sped up and I ended up with a mouthful of numbers and formulas I couldn't quite digest.
I don't want to give up though. Maybe it isn't the book so much as I personally do better with incarnate educators? I might read this again with someone so we can discuss it as we go...
I wanted to like this book, I really did-for many reasons, not least of which because Strogatz is a professor at my alma mater. Unfortunately, the book never quite accomplished what it set out to do with me.
I have always done well in math, even if I never fully understood the intricacies of each topic. I believe in the beauty of mathematics. I have told my own students time and again that math is not about numbers, it's about ways of thinking, and I love that Strogatz believes it, understands it, and wants to show others the inherent beauty and elegance in math. I'm sad to say he just didn't reach me. Perhaps someone else might read this and say, "Aha! It clicked!" I'm just broken hearted it wasn't me because for the life of me I couldn't tell you where exactly he lost me. It seems like one of those subjects where it's so simple I SHOULD grasp it, but it eludes me. And it is with that that I went from lamenting not having taken his class at Cornell, to thanking God I didn't because I surely would have failed. I felt like Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory, wrapping candy as the conveyor belt progressively sped up and I ended up with a mouthful of numbers and formulas I couldn't quite digest.
I don't want to give up though. Maybe it isn't the book so much as I personally do better with incarnate educators? I might read this again with someone so we can discuss it as we go...