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murmillo
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I find this question quite interesting, because there is a reason why some people are so engaged in mathematics. So I was wondering what people in this forum find so enthralling about math.
When I was in elementary school, I absolutely loved math (and dinosaurs and maps). I spent my free time drawing curious shapes and trying to find interesting properties of those shapes and patterns in numbers. Back then I was certain that whatever job I would do in the future, had to involve math. I simply could not imagine a day going by in my life without thinking of math. I loved finding things out.
Now I'm a junior in college and a math major in the Honors Program of a well-known liberal arts college (well, well-known for some; unknown for most people, as most liberal arts colleges are). I still enjoy reading math for fun, and doing math, but maybe not as much as before. Perhaps it's because I'm not in a classroom setting with professors and students to collaborate with. I'm sure that has something to do with it, but I'm finding that I'm getting a little bored. Perhaps the math I'm doing is still at an elementary level and all the truly beautiful theorems will come later?
I've taken the really "basic" courses: calculus and linear algebra. I've also taken a semester of real analysis. This fall I'll be taking algebra (I've already read the chapter on groups) and elementary differential geometry. I've looked at some of the basic nitty-gritty definitions and theorems, and none of them seem beautiful. I skipped to near the end and found a theorem saying, in my own words with complete lack of rigor, that if you take the globe and make a 2-D map of it you're bound to distort the distances of at least two places. That to me sounds beautiful because it's obvious but sort of not obvious at all at the same time.
Right now I'm trying to grapple with a topology text because I'm trying to find some branch of mathematics that will be so interesting that it can be a passion. I think I need something that I can think about in my head while in bed.
So, what parts of math do you find beautiful?
I'm putting this thread in Academic Guidance because I am considering going for a Ph.D. in math or statistics because I want to teach college students, and this thread should help people who need help deciding.
When I was in elementary school, I absolutely loved math (and dinosaurs and maps). I spent my free time drawing curious shapes and trying to find interesting properties of those shapes and patterns in numbers. Back then I was certain that whatever job I would do in the future, had to involve math. I simply could not imagine a day going by in my life without thinking of math. I loved finding things out.
Now I'm a junior in college and a math major in the Honors Program of a well-known liberal arts college (well, well-known for some; unknown for most people, as most liberal arts colleges are). I still enjoy reading math for fun, and doing math, but maybe not as much as before. Perhaps it's because I'm not in a classroom setting with professors and students to collaborate with. I'm sure that has something to do with it, but I'm finding that I'm getting a little bored. Perhaps the math I'm doing is still at an elementary level and all the truly beautiful theorems will come later?
I've taken the really "basic" courses: calculus and linear algebra. I've also taken a semester of real analysis. This fall I'll be taking algebra (I've already read the chapter on groups) and elementary differential geometry. I've looked at some of the basic nitty-gritty definitions and theorems, and none of them seem beautiful. I skipped to near the end and found a theorem saying, in my own words with complete lack of rigor, that if you take the globe and make a 2-D map of it you're bound to distort the distances of at least two places. That to me sounds beautiful because it's obvious but sort of not obvious at all at the same time.
Right now I'm trying to grapple with a topology text because I'm trying to find some branch of mathematics that will be so interesting that it can be a passion. I think I need something that I can think about in my head while in bed.
So, what parts of math do you find beautiful?
I'm putting this thread in Academic Guidance because I am considering going for a Ph.D. in math or statistics because I want to teach college students, and this thread should help people who need help deciding.
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