Maths is now the best part of my day

It hasn't always been this way, though.

Like many, my past relationship with maths is fraught with trauma. The story I told myself (with some supporting rhetoric from the classical education system) is that I've never been naturally good with maths (whatever that means). So when I came across a post by a guy called Gabriel, who shared his story of relearning maths as an adult, it immediately resonated with me. I wanted that, too.

And so I discovered Math Academy. I can go on and on about Math Academy, but I'll boil it down. Maths is massive. Think of it as a vast, interconnected web of topics, where advanced topics depend on more basic ones, and those, in turn, rely on yet more foundational concepts. Math Academy's secret sauce is that it helps you climb this knowledge graph from your current position (your current knowledge frontier). This is so elegant. It means that you'll never get served content you're not ready for. If you do struggle with a concept, the system will take a step back so you can first master a more fundamental building block. (The Math Academy platform is also backed by an awesome team — check out the X accounts for MA, Justin, Alex and Jason).

In previous attempts to learn maths, I've always found the sheer size of the subject daunting. Where do I start? How do I tackle it? How long will it take? All of that disappeared with Math Academy. Simply log on and do a lesson. Repeat. That's it.

I've been "simply logging on and doing a lesson" now for the last 16 months, and it has truly changed my relationship with maths. I can finally explain why calculus is awesome. I hope to explain eigenvalues at dinner soon.

The other day, my partner asked me, "When will you actually finish all of this maths stuff?" — my answer came quickly: "Never".

Following my curiosity is what makes life interesting. So learning maths will stay a part of my life. Apart from being the favourite part of my day (tablet out, calculator ready, let's go!), it's making possible what I once only dreamt about: more advanced mathematical topics, machine learning, economics, physics. It already gave me the confidence to build a modern computer from scratch. The list goes on. It's teaching me discipline and patience. But most of all, I fundamentally changed my relationship with maths.

I'm looking forward to doing some maths tomorrow. And for that, I'm grateful.