The joy of what we do
Almost everyday as I walk into my probability and statistics class, I find Dr. Shannon, who teaches the class before mine, talking to a student or another professor on some sort of mathematical concept. Seeing him get so excited about math makes me think about why I love math.
Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy math purely for the sake of the way it makes me think or if I enjoy it because it comes much easier to me than other subjects. Do you ever wonder if it’s being good at a subject that makes you like it rather than the subject itself?
The reason I am bringing this up is because it seems that the more difficult math becomes for me, the more frustrated I become. However, when I understand something well or I get a problem correct, I get a sense of pride and accomplishment.
I can remember a time when I hated math, mainly because I didn’t understand it. I wonder if I ever would have grown to even like it if I had not learned how bend my mind towards it. I can also remember a time when I loved to write stories. Now, I don’t enjoy creative writing as much, but I also don’t believe that I have as much talent at the craft as I once thought. The fact that I kind of flip-flopped from one type of thinking to another (creative thinking to logical thinking) when I stopped getting as much praise for one and started getting better at the other makes me think that I get joy out of doing things that I am good at rather than just because I like do them. But why do I stick with math if it just keeps getting more difficult?
After this thought process, which I go through on at least a weekly basis, I always come back to the conclusion that I enjoy math because I enjoy the logical thought process that it requires, and I dislike it when I don’t understand it because I dislike the feeling of being incorrect. When math is hard it sucks, but when I know what I’m doing I love it.
It all sounds logical to me. haha. No, but I don’t really know. I used to dream about being a writer one day. That’s all I used to talk about when I was little. But then I had a horrible middle school teacher, who basically told me that I better find a different profession. I still loved writing, but I was afraid to show it to anyone after that. I was never that great at math. I got my first B in math, and basically every B after that was also in Math. I couldn’t understand it, and I would break down into tears over a simple (well, more like complex) math problem! BUT, was I bad at it, because I didn’t like math, or did i hate math, because I was bad at it?
I guess I’ll never know.
I think you touch upon something that is fascinating and perplexing to both the teacher and learner. Are challenges fun? Is it enjoyable to be confused? Perhaps one would say that a challenge is fun, but it is NOT enjoyable to be confused, yet the two statements could be true of any given math problem? What makes something challenging? Difficult? And could it be that it is the outcome that we fear more than the challenge and confusion itself? Could it be that we don’t like confusion or “not knowing” if it means “failure?” Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation play a role here. I enjoyed this post!
I wonder if it has to be one or the other (the reason you like math)…I think it’s because of the way it makes you think AND because it comes easier to you. I love to ballroom dance but when I first started, I hated to cha-cha. It was my least favorite dance because I couldn’t get my Cuban hip motion down. Now, I can shake it like there’s no tomorrow and I LOVE cha-cha. In this case, dancing as a whole was (is!) something I love because of how it made (makes!) me feel, but I had to work at it in order to love a specific facet of it. This is how you should address whichever new and difficult mathematical subjects you come across today…know that when you get them down, you’ll love them. As to the question of, “If you are good at something, does this mean you will like it?” I think MOST of the time but not always. My mom was an accountant major her first two years of college. She understood it and was very good at it. But at the beginning of her junior year, she realized it brought her absolutely no joy and the fact that she was good at it was not enough to make her persue it. You are both good at and love math. Persue it with every fiber of your being and encourage others to love it too, until, if ever, you love it no more.