Build a Mathematical Mind: Even If You Think You Can’t Have One by Albert Rutherford. 

3/5 rating. 79 pages.

Book #44 of 2023. Read November 4, 2023.

This is a short book about habits of mind and the bases behind math.

While I didn’t think that this was the most entertaining book, it did sum up what I think are probably the most important aspects of math (and what is unfortunately so often skipped over!!):

– Math is just problem solving

– This mostly includes patterns and pattern recognition

– A good number sense simplifies everything else in math

– All being a “mathematician” entails is trying things in order to get from where you are to where you need to be

Math is seen by many people as this magical subject that has its own language and is impossible to decipher unless you are a “math person”. This is one of both the biggest lies and the most common misconceptions period. We do most people a huge disservice by focusing on memorizing things in math, or using algorithms to cover up the fact that students (or just people in general) don’t understand what is being done.

This is a large part of why I became a math teacher! I want everyone to know that they are a mathematician as long as they are willing to try different things and think deeply about a problem. Math is everywhere in life, and it does not matter what path you take, you are going to be using it every day. I think this book is a small reminder of this…..though unless you are someone like me that likes this topic, you can probably just remember the four above things and skip reading the book.

Quotes:

“Mathematics is a creative field that involves visualizing, finding patterns, asking ‘what if?’ and experimenting.”

“In his Lament, Lockhart argues mathematics is an art form akin to music or painting, but it hasn’t been recognized as such. He faults the educational system, writing, ‘In fact, if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done— I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.’”

“So many of us who were turned off from math at an early age would have loved it had we seen what it truly is. How many people do you know who say ‘Music? Eh, it’s just so boring. I’m not a music person.’”

“The authors wanted education to focus on creating pattern sniffers, experimenters, describers, tinkerers, inventors, visualizers, conjecturers, and guessers. This was a far cry from the traditional idea of math as basic arithmetic to be memorized.”

“Mathematicians use logic; they look for patterns; they reason abstractly; they don’t give up when they encounter hard problems, but rather, they persevere in solving them (or maybe they go to sleep and continue processing them in their dreams).”

“If you found yourself confused by numbers or graphs in school or intimidated by variables and equations, remind yourself that math is a language that represents our world. It is not obscure, created just to perplex generations of students, but a way of communicating information that can help you make more sense of the world around you.”

“Just as mathematicians aren’t afraid to experiment, they’re not afraid to test ideas before they are formed. They know a discussion will lead to deeper understanding.”

“Discoveries don’t usually come to us as epiphanies but rather as the result of exploration. Mathematicians wouldn’t be able to make the discoveries they do without tinkering.”

“To be a tinkerer, ask yourself, ‘What if?’ Don’t be afraid to be extreme!”

“The most important aspect of an algorithm is that the person who uses it understands it and can rely on it for solving that type of problem.”

“Mathematicians are all about efficiency. There’s a saying that mathematicians are lazy. This means they are always looking for shortcuts. They observe phenomena, look for patterns, and find more efficient ways to do things. They think algorithmically.”

“After all, mathematics is the study of phenomena that exist around us; it’s our job to notice and interpret those phenomena.”

“One of the key differences between mathematicians and everybody else is that mathematicians don’t give up when they face a mathematical challenge. In fact, they enjoy these challenges.”

“This is how to think like a mathematician – be able to pick the right tool and discern the most efficient way to solve a problem.”

#math #mathbooks #problemsolving #books #bookreviews #mathematician #mathteacher
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