T H I S

T H I S

I feel that in the studyblr community nobody actively talks about the study environment some of us have, so shoutout to those students that:

• live with their parents (not everyone goes to college/uni where they have dorms, and even then, not everyone can afford it)

• have to deal with parents/family members constantly arguing in the background

• work / have to worry heavily about just getting by (paying rent, groceries, medication)

• need loud music to study and drown outside noises

• can not "study prettily" at coffee shops

• take care of other family members, and thus have to be ready to drop whaterever they are doing to assist them at any time

• can not concentrate or get "in the zone" no matter what they do

• do not have a personal computer/tablet

• do not have a room of their own

• are neurodivergent and the advice of most study masterpost/tips is not applicable.

You are valid, you are seen, you are not alone. If nobody has told you already: if you are trying the best you can then the best you can is good enough.

sincerely, a student who needed to hear this.

Hello! for the longest time I've thought that I'm just "not good" at math, and that I'm just a creative type or something, but for the past few years I've been trying to brute-force my way through math drills and stuff to improve because I want to go into a STEM field. I've found that it doesn't work. I have, however, gained a kind of Stockholm syndrome for math, and I find myself wanting to know *more*. I feel like I'm missing out on something way beyond myself but idk where to even find that. So here i am. Asking a blog on tumblr for the secret math knowledge. If you have any resources that i could read about math that isn't just "here's how to do this" i would really appreciate it!!!

First of all, complete props to you for giving something that doesn't initially appeal to you, in this case, maths, a chance. Mathematics can be frustrating and even annoying, being an oftentimes nit-picky field. You can quickly realize that these are also the traits that grant the satisfaction and euphoria of mathematics. So don't forget to be proud of yourself for not disregarding mathematics as a whole and actually giving it a go.

Second of all, creativity is very necessary for maths. It is a shame that the educational system doesn't do maths justice (A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart is exactly about this). Mathematics is presented as something mechanical, force-feeding formulas and having students repeat them to find adequate results. That is not a fair portrayal of mathematics.

Different people will have different conceptions of what the learning of mathematics is or should be - I mean, for god's sake, mathematics hasn't even been defined properly and one expects people to know what to do with it. I can only tell you what I conceptualize mathematics, and its learning, to be. For me, mathematics is the boring work of examining multiple results and cases of the same formulas, it is the finding of patterns and attempting generalizations, it's the excited scribbles of formulas and the necessity of looking at a particular scenario from multiple perspectives. Most likely, the generalizations won't come easily, a minus sign will be forgotten making the following calculations obsolete, an approach to a problem will prove fruitless, and laborious work will be done only to find out there was a specific theorem that would have shortened the whole process. Patience is required for maths, and hopefully, you can now see that creativity is too, there is no shortcut to knowing where to look or what technique to utilize. As is the case with most worthwhile pursuits, and as you know from experience, mathematics is endlessly frustrating, but that also means it is endlessly fun.

Now, I do not have any secret math knowledge (or do I), what I can do is present you with some things that fascinate me and have led me to love mathematics as much as I do, outside of the conventional mathematics curriculum. 

Maths really comes down to practice, practice, practice... as many other things. I heavily encourage you to start playing around with mathematics a little bit. Olympiad mathematics kind of do that, (I, very conveniently, have a lot of posts about that.) as do many other math competitions. Maybe try out some exercises from your national olympiad and, with no judgment, because this is just to have fun, play around a bit. Disregarding the conventional maths you know, test out your logic, laugh at mistakes and losses of time, and feel that happy rush when a conjecture you reach, or part of it, is correct.

In terms of the resources, I opted for a mix of funny math history moments and some actual mathematics, in no particular order. Prepare for confusion. ↓

0. How Mathematics is enjoyable

No better way to start than with the reasons mathematicians decided to dedicate a good portion of their lives to the subject, or why some people just enjoy mathematics. This is something that greatly interests me, I always love to see people’s passion for their interests, hence this post, where you’ll find many people’s reasons for enjoying mathematics. 

Andrew Wiles answers “What does it feel like to do maths?” - (video) - Andrew Wiles is a mathematician who proved the theorem which had been taunting mathematicians for centuries, famously known for being the subject of the third point of this same post, explains peoples’ distaste for maths and his own experience with the subject.

YouTube Stories: Learning Mathematics with Wootube by Eddie Woo - (video) - Eddie Woo is a wonderful mathematics educator as well, who videotapes his lessons (available on Youtube). This serves as an introduction to him and his channel.

Mathematics is the sense you never knew you had by Eddie Woo - (video) - In his TEDx Talk, Eddie starts by explaining his distaste for maths in his school years, mentioning his low scores and lack of interest, and how, despite this, he ended up as a maths teacher.

Reddit asks: “Why do you love maths?” - Another compilation of people’s explanations for their mathematical interest. Wholesome content ahead.

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1. Intro to a new perspective on mathematics

Taming, claiming and reframing the beast that is mathematics  by Vinay Kathotia - Small article related to the portrayal of mathematics by most and by mathematicians themselves.

On proof and progress in mathematics by William P. Thurston - Mentioned in the previous article, 17-page 

Anyone Can Be a Math Person Once They Know the Best Learning Techniques by Po-Shen Loh - (video)

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√2 . The Pythagorean Cult

I’m sure you’re aware of Pythagoras and his fetish for right triangles, but do you know about his weird cult? That’s right, Pythagoras was the founder of Pythagoreanism, a cult based on the teachings and beliefs held by him and his followers, the Pythagoreans. - very original naming ik.

Here’s and article about them. A really popular myth related them is the throwing of Hippasus into the sea as a punishment for “believing” (i guess) in irrational numbers.

The unreasonable man by Vinay Kathotia, further explores the irrationality of the square root of 2, allegedly identified by Hippasus, providing some proofs of it. 

Proof: √2 is irrational by Khan Academy (video) - Because Khan Academy rarely misses.

The Madness of Pythagoras by Kayla Mahoney - Did you know Pythagoras refused to eat fava beams,  because he claimed they contained the souls of the dead? Now you do, and there’s no going back >:).

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2. The base tools of mathematics

Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Alexandru Buium - Pretty self-explanatory title, simplistic and general apprach to mathematics starting with the essential, logic.

The Five-fold Path to Mathematical Wisdom by Vinay Kathotia - Article about five different approaches to mathematical problems/representations.

How to think like a Mathematician by Kevin Houston - Really useful book, starts with certain study skills and develops to the logic involved in mathematical thinking, explains theorems, definitions and proofs! Highly reccomend.

How to Think Like a Mathematician by Eugenia Cheng - (video)

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3.  "I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain."

Yup, this is about Fermat’s Last Theorem, which took 350 years to be proven.

I’m guessing you’ve come across some jokes about it, how could one not. Essentially, in the 1630′s, our man Pierre de Fermat jotted down the conjecture (fight me, no proof no theorem) that states that no three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer value of n greater than 2, along with the sentence "I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain.". The paper which contained this was only found after his death, and, as far as we know, he never got around to actually writing the proof. Because of this, we call this statement Fermat’s Last Theorem.

Andrew Wiles was who ended up proving Fermat’s Last Theorem, in 1993, after six years of working secretly on the problem. (Imagine your dirty little secret being working on revolutionizing an entire field of study, what a guy honestly.)

Fermat's Last Theorem - The Theorem and Its Proof: An Exploration of Issues and Ideas [1993] - Documentary about the theorem and its proof, as told by Andrew Wiles himself.

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4. Functions

Honestly functions are just a very needed side of mathematics that can be applied to pretty much everything. You’ll find them in your average mathematics curriculum and in your everyday life, if you know where to look.

Introduction to functions 

Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning - Numbers, Sets and Functions by  Peter J. Eccles

Functions in the Real World - Education World

- This is definitely a more theoretical part of the list, I am sure you’ve encountered functions before and the resources you have musn’t be terrible. Look into these if you find the necessity, but again the “math secret” really is practice. They can be interesting reads though.

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5. Möbius strips and Klein bottles

The wondrous world of ✨one-sided objects✨.  Learn about these cool looking objects and the field they originated, topology.

The Mathematical Madness of Möbius Strips and Other One-Sided Objects by  David Gunderman and Richard Gunderman 

Intro to Topology by Alex Küronya - Decently advanced maths, I don’t know what level of maths you’re learning, but honestly only read this if you have a pretty thorough backgroung in maths and you’re enrolled/very interested in the field.

Möbius Strip - Cool graphics, cooler maths.

Klein Bottles on Numberphile - Because Numberphile never misses.

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6. The Chicken McNugget Theorem

Yes, you did read that right, No, this is by far not the only theorem with a weirdly funny name*. This theorem derives from a 1800′s math problem.

Explanation of the theorem by Xavier Lien

Chicken McNugget Theorem - Art of Problem Solving

Another explanation, if needed by Mike Beneschan

*Proof: Reddit asks: “ What's the funniest theorem name you know? ” - Literally a gold mine, read this. 

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7. Godël’s incompleteness

One of the essential works of Modern Logic. His theorems destroyed the search for a mathematical theory of everything, at the mere age of 25.

Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems -  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The paradox at the heart of mathematics: Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem by Marcus du Sautoy @ Ted-Ed (video)

How Gödel’s Proof Works - Quanta Magazine

Gödel: His Tragic Life Story by Aimee Lamoureux - (TW: Sensitive themes)

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8. Mathematics is an art, actually

I’ve seen many people stray away from the sciences because they’re “creatives” or “arts people”. Hopefully you’ve gotten at least a glimpse of the creativity needed in mathematics - if you didn’t, that is totally on me and I’m sorry. 

I don’t doubt that you may be a “creative type”. We actually need creatives, more than anything, in this field. I thought the perspective of mathematics as an art mignt be a good ending note.

Why Math is an Art, Not a Science by Peter Flom

Why the history of maths is also the history of art by  Alex Bellos - He also wrote the book  “Alex’s Adventures in Numberland”, which I own and have read. It’s a pretty sweet book, it has my stamp of approval if you’re interested.

Math and Movies (Animation at Pixar) - Numberphile - On the mathematics behind the art of animation.

Art and Math: Aesthetics of Calculations by Rute Ferreira (DailyArt Magazine)

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Besides this I’m also leaving a list of youtubers/authors that are worth looking into. :) 

∞. General resources:

Math-related Youtube:

Numberphile - Have different concepts explained to you in a seemingly personal and almost always funny manner.

3Blue1Brown - Maths explanations paired with excellent visual representation of the concepts.

Reducible - As they put it “Reducing problems to their simplest form.”. Also paired with really good animations.

Websites:

Art of Problem Solving

Blogs/Articles:

Cantor’s Paradise - I’ve linked a few articles published there throghout this post. Essentially, different authors publish math articles in this online space, varied and generally well-written about topics.

Alex Bellos for The Guardian - Puzzles and mathematical articles.

Mathblr Blogs - Check the notes of this post to find a lot of them.

Games:

Nerdle - Math Wordle

(...) - Please reccomend more resources below, I’m not the most well-versed on these subjects.

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Hopefully, you now find maths a little sweeter, funnier, or comprehensible. As with most things, people lead math discovery, and there’s absolutely no reason you’d be unable to be part of that group. 

Mathematical problem-solving is something really frustrating but also immensely fun and rewarding. Please look into it, be it olympiads or general problems you find online, don’t take yourself too seriously and have fun with maths! Mathematics doesn’t judge, people do. I wish you well on your math journey! Hopefully, you’ll love it.

P.S: Feel free to add to this post with any math stuff you think is interesting. The more, the merrier!

Video essays that make me go "oh, so you're like smart smart"

Elon Musk and Grimes: A Retrospective

Bo Burnham vs. Jeff Bezos

The Systemic Abuse of Celebrities

Lana Del Rey: the pitfalls of having a persona

we need to talk about Call Me By Your Name

MYTH OF THE AUTEUR: Stanley Kubrick vs David Lynch

In Search Of A Flat Earth

Envy

The Commodification of Black Athletes

The Lies Of The Lighthouse

The Green Knight: The Uncanny Horror of Masculinity

Max Payne, Kane & Lynch, and the Meaning of Ugly Games

Time Loop Nihilism

How Bisexuality Changed Video Games

The Golden Age of Horror Comics - Part 1 (Part 2)

Weighing the Value of Director's Cuts | Scanline

The True Horror Of Midsommar

a few more -

You're Wrong About Cyberpunk 2077 | An Overdue Critique (this is such great critique of both the game and the genre)

Disney's Fast Pass: A Complicated History

It Has Come To My Attention You Don't All Love BIRDS OF PREY

Adaptation.

The man who almost faked his way to a Nobel Prize

Music Theory and White Supremacy

Here's the YouTube playlist! ill be adding more but that's all so far pls like and reblog xoxo 💕

ok hanging out on reddit is actually a great idea. someone said they didnt like henry cavill as geralt because witchers move "10x faster than a human", but cavill only moves at human speeds, and someone replied they were "fascinated by what actor they would suggest instead" given the limitation that all actors are human.

Here is my brand new challenge! I hope that you will all enjoy taking part in this challenge <3

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Info

This challenge will begin on the 1st October 2020 and will run for the entire month

HOWEVER! My plan for this challenge is also that it can be done at any time (like the 100 days of productivity challenge for example), so although it will be officially starting then (and that is when I will be doing it) you can start it at any time

There are 31 prompts - one for each day of the month

If you do the challenge, use the tag #studyblr community challenge so i can track the posts and see what you are all posting (and so others can see as well!)

Days 1 -14 are essentially a way to introduce yourself to the community and to find out about the person behind the blog!

Days 15 -28 are what really excite me about this challenge! Essentially, my initial idea was to do an ‘appreciation challenge’ and so these days are essentially this idea within the larger challenge. It is an opportunity to tag studyblrs that you love and let them know that you appreciate them 

The final three days of the challenge are about reflection and looking at yourself positively.  

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Aims

As the name suggests, I want this challenge to be about community 

Studyblr has personally helped me so much and I’ve met some incredible people and I thought this challenge would be a good way to bring the community closer 

When I was creating this challenge, I tried to keep in mind new studyblrs. I think that it is a good way of introducing yourself and getting involved in the community, as well as having things to post, if you have just started! It could also be a good way for people to find your blog!

That said, if you have been in studyblr for a while (for example, like me!), this challenge is definitely still for you! I think it will be a good way for your followers to find out more about you and to discover some new blogs!

Overall, I hope that this challenge will promote positivity, appreciation and productivity

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Rules

If you want to do this challenge, please reblog this post

There are daily prompts for 31 days but challenges should never be a burden so you can post as frequently as you like/are able to 

When tagging, please do not spam people. Tag someone different for each day so we can share the love. 

I would suggest only tagging 1 person for each of the days but I understand that it could be a hard choice for some days. Therefore, I would say that a maximum of 3 people can be tagged for each of the days. 

Please be respectful. Some of the prompts are asking about personal opinions and you might disagree, but make sure to remember that everyone has had different experiences and the questions are designed to promote the sharing of ideas. 

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Prompts

Day 1 - Introduce yourself and tell us what you study!

Day 2 - Explain your studyblr URL! 

Day 3 - Why did you create your studyblr?

Day 4 - How long have you had a studyblr?

Day 5 - Have you ever done a challenge before?

Day 6 - Why did you decide to do this challenge and what is your goal?

Day 7 - What is your goal for your studyblr for the next few months?

Day 8 - What is the best thing about studyblr in your opinion?

Day 9 - What is the worst thing about studyblr in your opinion?

Day 10 - What is one thing you wished you could change about studyblr?

Day 11 - What is something that you have learnt from studyblr?

Day 12 - How much time do you spend on studyblr per day on average?

Day 13 - Do you have an ‘aesthetic’? If yes, what is it?

Day 14 - What are some of your study essentials?

Day 15 - Tag someone you look up to

Day 16 - Tag someone who has beautiful handwriting 

Day 17 - Tag someone who you think is really kind

Day 18 - Tag someone who makes you think more deeply about things

Day 19 - Tag someone you are grateful to have met

Day 20 - Tag someone who has a lovely aesthetic

Day 21 - Tag someone you think works really hard and deserves appreciation

Day 22 - Tag someone who makes you smile

Day 23 - Tag someone whose blog you always check 

Day 24 - Tag someone who posts the best text posts

Day 25 - Tag someone who gives good advice

Day 26 - Tag someone who you would like to get to know

Day 27 - Tag someone who makes you laugh 

Day 28 - Tag someone who you think everyone should follow

Day 29 - What are three things that you are proud of?

Day 30 - What are three things about yourself that you love?

Day 31 - What are three things that inspire you? 

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I really hope you will all get involved and if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an ask!

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TAGLIST

Czytaj dalej

Day 4 and 5 and 6, and i don’t even know anymore

Let’s get this shit started, shall we? Three days at the time, to procrastinate on recommended reading... But it will be worth it <3 Days 4-6 for the challenge of @myhoneststudyblr

Y’all know those stories about golden children that starting failing at uni? I am an overachiever who just realized that if I am going to survive till next year - there is no way I can overachieve if I want to also: a) have enough money to sustain myself b) not eat trash and live in a trash pile c) not die at 18 due to sleeping 3 hours a day.

On the bright side - I cleaned the bathroom. I picked up my gown from the campus (i am pretty sure I am studying at modern Hogwarts tho?) and I also got a job! I am excited. As much as it seems like something you say to please your boss - this is my favourite grocery shop ever. I could DIE for that shop. They let me buy like 4-5 days worth of food for 2 people for 14 pounds.

How long have you had a studyblr?

... it will be like, my 9th day now.

Have you ever done a challenge before?

I am not much of a challenge person. My brain just resonates with “well, you gotta”, so if I decide that I am getting up at 6 am every day, then I just... will. The thing is, life sneaks through the backdoor, so Tumblr challenges are far from my priority. They are fun though, I think I did like one or two when I was younger ;)

Why did you decide to do this challenge and what is your goal?

Honestly, I am here to empower all of the folks that also get up at 6 am, do their lectures, prepare dinner, do their seminars, clean the hourse, do their readings, attend bussinesses and then still find time to be their own person.

I wanna show to the world and to myself that it’s attainable. And that it doesn’t have to be a fight for perfection. I will probably slip more times that imaginable and that’s okay. I think we need such realistic outlook on studying and bettering yourself. It surely would have helped me a lot ;)

Also, I hope it will make me more consistent. I do study everyday, so we are off for a good start.