The first time I had a column in the Valentine’s Day issue, I covered the mathematics of love; for this year’s issue, I thought it fitting to write about the love of mathematics. The math here will be the focus, but I hope I can convince you that my journeys with this subject have some common threads relevant to the people and things you love (even if math is decidedly not one of those things).
I remember loving math from an early age, probably because I was very good at the subject in school. But I was incredibly lucky to have some really cool teachers who also loved math and loved to teach it to students. My third-grade teacher would make a “four-square” worksheet every morning of school, which featured four math problems that increased in difficulty from the first to the last square. The problems were so much fun I would go to school early to start working on them.
This exciting problem-solving environment continued in middle school, where my seventh-grade teacher split the class into groups of four for each unit. Each group member had specific tasks, and I was usually the group leader, helping answer questions or explain topics before we could ask the teacher about them (one of the mathematical rules in that class was “C 3 B 4 me,” to encourage peer-based learning). At the end of each unit, the group members would write “warm and fuzzies” for each other — compliments we would give each other after working together for several weeks to tackle a new algebra topic.
Finally, in high school, I had an incredible calculus teacher who would host a “Calcsgiving” every year before Thanksgiving break to celebrate the work we had done so far on a challenging subject. It is in large part thanks to this calculus teacher that I have a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics — the college credit I received in high school made it possible for me to add math as a second major in addition to physics.
My high school physics curriculum was equally stellar (to the point where taking the AP Physics C exam –on my 18th birthday–went largely pretty well). I loved physics, too, and for a while, I wanted to pursue a career in the subject. I likely would have stuck with this, but I had another incredible math experience at a summer research program in Toronto, Canada. The mathematics research was so exciting and so fulfilling that I realized I wanted to instead continue in this area. It was also right after this summer research experience that I began writing this column (for better or for worse).
The point of all this backstory is that where I am currently—pursuing a PhD in mathematics with a wonderful advisor and research group, working on research that brings me new excitement and fresh motivation almost constantly—didn’t just happen. Rather, over the years, I cultivated a deep love for mathematics that has kept me largely loyal to the subject (despite what physicists tell you, physics is really just a bunch of math that does a really really good job of describing the world).
This cultivation also relied on the support and knowledge I received from several wonderful mathematics teachers, and experiences through research opportunities and travel to conferences (I just got back from another one in Chicago!). This is a key aspect of love in a school subject that all students deserve, but moreover, in life, we humans need a caring and supportive partner or community for love to grow. We also have these people to fall back on when we fail a test (this happened to me on my 21st birthday — the challenge of a birthday in May is its prime test season!), lose a loved one, or experience some other hardship or strife.
So, in this special year (2025 is a perfect square!), I wish you success in cultivating love for whatever brings you joy. It is a challenging journey, with lots of course corrections, but well worth it.
