1- Math is hard. 2- Some teachers are better than others. 3- You have to teach yourself. 4- Not all math is the same (maths subjects are different). 5- Math is rewarding (getting a math degree is very rewarding).

I am a mathematics major and I love it so far. I was homeschooled so teaching myself was a must.

My friend is really depressed since he got a C in stochastic process. I think your video could cheer him up.

I struggled with math all throughout high school (getting D's and F's) in my freshman/sophomore/junior year. This year I took it upon myself to learn math and I gotta say, it's one of the most fulfilling things to "beat" when you are able to do calculus after struggling with algebra for years. I'm currently in the 2nd hardest calculus class in my school and doing much better. PS your videos motivated me a lot and I can proudly say that I like math a lot right now. Thank you math sorcerer!!!!

Yes! more than 3 (pure) math classes is just insane. You just dont have the time to do all the practice questions and you just learn half as much. Just take your time. Nobody has to finish his degree a year earlier.

Math major here, math is extremely hard, sometimes downright exhausting, but other times straight up exciting. Don’t look up answers and work together friends!

The hardest thing for me was seeing people who weren't math majors who were still better at math than I was. A lot of those physics majors are better than me at derivations and proofs, and that was hard to take, because I'm not great at physics.

Didn't expect to find this motivational, but here I am excited to get out of a slump and study math.

"Your success in maths depends on you". Very wise!

I have a masters in math and I was constantly afraid of failing, I felt lost a big portion of the time, I had to study a lot too. Most of my peers pretended like they didn't have to study and were just not nice people. I don't know why, I didn't encounter that behavior when I was getting my masters in econ. Thankfully i still graduated with honors. I love your down to earth attitude towards math. Man, I still struggle with math because you forget stuff and other things are just difficult. I love your advice and wish I knew this stuff back in my day.

This was very encouraging! I’m currently taking Linear Algebra and I just don’t like it that much. It’s my first math class that involves proofs which I find very difficult. It also seems very abstract and i don’t really understand how it is applied. I preferred my Calculus classes because I could really see the big picture and it made more sense to me:)

Yes I agree, self taught math majors are better

This video is so true!!! I am about to graduate with my math degree in december, and this is my hardest semester by far. Everything that he says here is so true. It is not an easy journey, but it is very rewarding.

About to graduate in June with my Math degree. I loved every second of it. You do a good job here of laying things out. To anyone who's started studying math or is thinking of doing it, my best advice is to be patient. There's going to be challenges and you will be tested, but you just have to push through. You can do it.

Great video! I agree with everything you said! Not only is learning to teach yourself math a key to confidence and success in school, but it will ensure your pleasure in mathematics after schooling as well. Another thing I’ll add, related to how people react to you being a math major, is people who aren’t into math often don’t realize how vast and how abstract it gets. So to a lot of people you’re “the math guy” but this basically just means to them you’re “the numbers guy”. People would make remarks to me about doing this or that with numbers and I’m thinking “I haven’t seen a number in weeks, the last time I did mental arithmetic was to tip the pizza delivery guy, and that was a month ago because I’m too broke to afford another pizza delivery”

This really needs more views. I felt like this was very necessary advice for newbies, math majors and anyone considering this rewarding field of study. I remember when you had less than 100k subscribers and I’m so happy people are listening and watching your channel. By the way, I’m just a regular guy and no genius at all, too. Love the content!

I really love this channel. in my entire university career you are probably the first person to ever talk about teaching yourself in such a negative (read positive lol) light. Ever since my first year all I've heard is people complain like "I am paying so much to teach myself all this stuff smh". To some extent I've always known that attitude was not very good, but it being basically my initial and primary influence, it really started to affect how I felt about going to class. I felt like I was just supposed to understand everything (or just most things) by the time class was done and if that didn't happen it was just because the teacher was bad or I felt like it was just not even in my abilities to grasp basic concepts. You may be the first person I've heard say that it is ok to start from little (or even nothing) and work yourself up from there; not only is it normal, it is basically expected. And the thing is, I don't even major in math haha. All this to say that I feel like this video has really sent me in the right direction. Sure there will be less than great teachers but I will go into class from now on with a completely new mindset and I think that that is really exciting. Thank you so much :D

I wanted to be Math major through distance learning. But with job and children, I could not. i am inspired.

Just stumbled across this... as someone who just got my dual degrees in Physics and Applied Mathematics, this is super on point. My worst semester was 3 upper level math classes with 3 upper level physics classes... there were many tears that semester.

Teaching urself is probably the most relatable and rewarding advice especially in equations u wanna know but havent been taught

For the longest time I struggled with the very concept of math. I knew that math was very important in regards to life, and that if I wanted to get a career in a STEM field then I will have to learn it. But I couldn't grasped the concept when I was in High School due to the classes making the subject very unappealing while the teachers themselves were not very helpful in any regard. This in turn had lead me into developing a fear of never understanding the concept, which sucked a lot considering that I am highly curious and always desiring to get into the STEM fields in the future. A field that I could not enter because I would get anxiety over thinking that I will never be proficient in math to the point where I can apply as a STEM student. But despite my anxiety attacks and fear-induced stress, I kept trying to do my best to find some way to conquer my fears and finally begin to learn how to comprehend the subject. Fortunately, at the old age of 25 years old, I am finally at the point where I can see how beautiful and fun can be. Which is great because I am planning on taking some classes at my local community college. I haven't really decided what degree and career path I want to take yet (that is why I am going to my local college in the first place after all), but I am feeling like this is the right time to take some math classes and possibly pursue a STEM degree. So thank you Math Sorcerer for making this video as this is just what I need in order to pursue the degree that I always want to get. Sincerely, A Prospective Math Student

The part about math being different is so true. Some of my classes I would be top of the class making straight A's, and some I barely passed with C's. Then when I tell someone I barely passed a math class they'd be like "I thought you were good at math?!" and be confused. I was good at proofs and logic, and things like abstract algebra, but terrible at integrating and manipulating equations without a computer. That's just how it goes

A lot of this applies to all majors. I needed this speech 20 years ago. I struggled with some of my math classes my junior and senior year.

Sir , you give me so much hope and motivation to re- teach myself math from scratch, so I can go to school to become a chemical engineer. I even bought some of the books you recommended for teaching yourself math from start to beginning( pre algebra , calculus , Algebra and trigonometry). I wish there were more Honest and sincere people like you who have a passion for math and want others to learn it.

This excellent advice can apply to any degree!! (Except the part where people call you a genius 🤣 )

I couldn't agree more with the point that some people are better than others in different math subjects. I hate combinatorics for example, it's darn hard in my opinion, but really enjoyed studying real analysis and linear algebra!

I really love your videos. I got a B.S. in mathematics 9 years ago and ended up working in a completely different area. I wish I knew about your videos when I was a student; but they also make me glad that I stuck it out with a subject I am still passionate about even though I struggled all the way through.

I teach elementary school students, but I think this is a good way to teach them too. Students should take ownership of their learning. But, I feel like it's also a skill to ask for help. It's a kind of balance perhaps. Awesome video!

Man you hit the nail on the head with all of your points. I was a math major & still love & have fun with math. And everyone I know refers to me as a math genius. It's meant to be flattering, but I've gotten to the point, ( I'm 50 years young) that I tell them; no I'm not a genius I worked my a** off to get "good" at math. I don't think people realize how much work it takes. Keep up the great videos. It's so awesome to have a forum for all of us "Math Geniuses" to connect & share. Cheers.

I agree certain people are better at certain types of Math, it is like it fits that person's personality or something.

Be Resourceful! That is great advice. I cannot tell you how many times I have done better on an exam than most simply because I utilized many resources beyond lecture and the textbook. You can find additional problems in other books, read stuff on the internet, and especially watch videos on youtube. Watch 3 different videos explaining the same thing on youtube, and you will almost certainly get it. Great video, as usual. :)

Absolutely agree from all points .. Studying maths with urself is always more helpfull instead u r depend on any others..

I thought points 2 and 3 were particularly good. From my experience as a maths graduate, I have always believed that the teacher is only a catalyst for learning something and that you have to go away and teach yourself everything anyway to understand things properly. A good teacher does help though, as they can help you understand something quicker and it may take you less time and effort to learn that thing yourself when you go to review it. If the teacher is bad then you just go teach it to yourself anyway and the extra effort that you’ll be forced to put in will help to cement whatever you’re trying to learn in your head. To really understand something anyway requires you to think hard about the material, no matter whether you are taught it by a teacher or not.

Thank You for this ❤️

I really enjoy the growth mindset that you have fostered in yourself and which is clear that you espouse to your students. Thanks Sorc

Agree with all your points and thank you for all the helpful videos

I've been watching all these videos and it's been super helpful towards my attitude around math and studying. Thank you!

I love these longer-style videos a lot, keep it up!

It was honest man 💪🏼📚!!

Your videos inspired me to go back to school for a degree in Maths. I started last fall and I'm loving every second of it. Thank you so much!

You are so motivational, il follow you from France and I am always feeling great and inspirated after I watch your vidéos!

5:30. Yep. A portion of my bachelor's classes. You can combine that with study groups, and it's a great way to learn.

I would say 6. Mathematicians are HAPPY! I don’t know how to say this well and it might be a reemphasize of point 5… but there was always a very joyful ambiance in my math classes and amidst my classmates… we are happy!

Awesome video! Fun Fact: Math and Statistic majors scored the best on the MCAT (Medical-School Admission Test) in 2019-2020. Statistics are not accurate considering the number of applicants that are math or statistic majors is low but still cool to know!

The 4th thing is a real one. I’m a math major myself and I am one of those (perhaps few) people who find analysis to be ‘easier’ than combinatorics. In high school, I struggled with counting problems, but I always thought that I just haven’t seen that many of counting before, so I decided to try a combinatorics class in college. While my interest in the subject grew, I had a miserable semester. Some of the problems took me a whole day, and most of my answers were inspired by my classmates’ ideas. In retrospect, I should add that my lack of experience in counting/thinking in discrete terms probably still had an effect on this. But the bottom line is, regardless of experience or natural inclination, it is important to be mindful when you are choosing your math classes. P.S. combinatorics/graph theory is a cool field of math though. Definitely a refreshing perspective on math. Some of the notions you learn may even help you in probability or geometry. So, do give it a try!

Yeah, I understand the way they treat you is different, thing. I can relate. I'm a central office tech in a large telecom company. When I speak to anyone that has even a little appreciation for how complex telecommunications is... they always have respect for that. When people ask me how a call works, I can explain that, but often need a few hours of background fill in, before I can begin to explain how the system works. If their eyes don't glaze over first, that is. The downside is, I have little patience for stupidity from those that aren't actually stupid. I try to be mindful of that.

Studying Mechatronics Engineering and your Differential equations videos are very helpful, thank you

This is a great video. Very honest and very helpful. Thank you.

WOW SO AWESOME!!! THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Hardest thing about math is there is never an upper limit to learning it. The limit is the sky. There is always uncovered scenarios and novel ways to approach a problem. A math specialist is one that is well trained to model a wide range of problems and come up with novel solutions that may or may not have been in print. The beauty of math lies in its various techniques or approaches that all confirm the proposition. For instance, you may use algebra, calculus or geometry to prove the Newton’s laws of motion, and any and all would confirm the result. The overlap between different branches in mathematics is really fascinating. Systems of differential equations and linear algebra for instance are inseparable. Geometry and trigs is yet another. Abstract Algebra and analysis and so on. Many may think that mathematicians are so logical that they lack creativity, but nothing as such is far from the truth. Finally, math is something that must be lived day in and day out. It doesn’t forgive rusting out. Big rewards are only for excellent serious mathematicians. In other field, you might get away with being a mediocre, but not the case with math.

Math is not easy. It is very hard and you could never finish it. There is always more and it will consume your whole life but it is beautiful and worth every effort you make to learn it. It is simply grand. The thing with teaching yourself math, I tried that and ended up becoming a math teacher (online). I am not in any way famous but it happened that way. There is something magical that happens when you start explaining math on videos to others; words start to flow which is not really your doing anymore. Thank you for your valuable videos (sorry I do not know your name sir)!

I completely agree...Being a regular guy who has interest in mathematics and works really really really hard on it ,evolves him not only intellectually but it’s a spiritual uplift meant for that guy ,as he gives his all to solve and understand the most complicated things , which to a natural innate talent would do no much good as it just naturally comes to him...I personally feel that getting something by once sheer hard work than just by a natural flow of talent is far more rewarding and satisfying..Nature inclines to the one who gives his soul to something worthwhile...

currently in the thick of real analysis and reallllly hating it. i’ve never questioned my major more. but next semester i get to take partial diffy qs and another analysis class, so it won’t all be bad. just excited for the day when i never have to use ε again in a proof.

I truly think if you had existed back when I was in college my experience would have been so much better. I did not really understand what I needed to do to succeed when I was 18. Instead I bumbled through it.

The benefit of having a daughter who was an undergrad math major is that at an older age I finally learned to appreciate and see the beauty in math. I have an MBA but math was never my strongest area. Calculus is easy in that you can generally get by through Calc I and II just by applying the formulas (thank God for u). But, it was my daughters high school AP Calc teacher who really cleared things for me. When I went to school in the dark ages, I was drilled in the Epsilon-Delta Definition of a limit. I had to literally regurgitate it on a test. I didn’t understand a damn thing. My daughter’s AP teachers went into limits first, explained them fully with lots of examples (limits from the left, limits from the right, indeterminate limits, etc..) and then introduced the Epsilon-Delta definition. That’s when the light turned on for me… only 20 years after my MBA. It all made sense. I enjoy math now and can see it everywhere. Favorite is still the golden ratio/Fibonacci sequence and all of its applications found in nature. It’s kind of past me now but at least can grasp topics like Fourier Analysis (and it’s applications in fluid mechanics and animation). It is funny too.. how people think all math majors are geniuses. They’re smart and dedicated but just like everyone else. An undergrad in math is not that difficult with the right teachers, depending upon the rigors of the program. I remember my daughters linear algebra professor had just gotten his PhD and was so pumped to see invitations and placards that said Dr. 😂😂 He earned it but it was funny to watch how psyched he was about it. I have an MBA in MIS but you’d never know it. I don’t have my diploma hanging up and frankly, it wasn’t all that difficult to get..I’m not particularly proud of it except for finishing it.

This is seriously what I needed to hear today. Thank you!

So glad I found your channel!

I appreciate these videos so much !!

I like this guy man he’s blunt and doesn’t act ignorant that he is a walking intelligent god.

I'm in a postion now to have the time to learn all that I missed in the math and science sphere some 46 years ago. With the help to videos -- Who would have thought of the internet in 1977? -- I am determined to make amends. Ironically, when I quit linear algebra in frustration, my professor told me I would need it. Well, I haven't because of severe underemployment, but now I see a need for it. -- not for engineering (which I wasn't a major, anyway), but for data science. Most importantly, I'm not learning for a job, which was the bane of the time, but rather to keep up my mental facilities.

On the mark, thanks for the advice. Keep the inspirasjon, alive!

"There are some people are good at a spesified math topic." "Some may be good at probability and statistics, some may be good at analyses. " I can relate it also I feel bad when it comes to differrential, integral in high school, but I enjoy set theory, arithmetics, some geometry. After more or less 20 years out of high school, I want to relearn it, since the situation is different now. At that time I tend to blame the teacher that I couldn't choose, the references that I had only few options. Now, we can learn from math forum, download free e book, so i can now deal with bad teacher and references availability. I think We should not be discouraged at what we bad at at math, judging solely on a few math topics, since math has a lot of branches and we won't be good at all no matter how hard we try to. I have learnt Some past mathematicians who has known contribution to math is story told not good at other math branches. Like Isaac Newton, who contribute differential to calculus is not good at Euclidean geometry. Sometimes i feel calling yourself a mathematicians will burden yourself to be excel in every math concept including with what you are not really good at. It also set people expectation to you to excel at every math topic.To release that burden, would it be a good idea not to use the term mathematician on ourselves, but to use instead a geometer, arithmetician, set theorist, a statistician, etc so we don't need to push oursevelves to be good at any mathematical branches but to focus on one or two only and also set people expectation lower.

I share your sentiments exactly. Also, my experiences with Graph Theory were similar. On my first introduction to it I didn't really like it all that much. Don;t get me wrong, I love all math. It's just that compared to other topics in math, Graph Theory was my least favorite. However, I do have an appreciation for it's usefulness and importance and I plan to either take a course or self-study it in depth sometime soon. Most non-math people will regard you as brilliant if you have a math degree. People struggle with math and find it very hard and it often becomes their least favorite subject. So, they are often very impressed with someone who can understand it well enough to get a math degree and/or even teach math. Also, self-study was a major part of my overall math education. For instance when it can time for me to take a course in Multi variable Calculus I immersed myself in deep self study of the topic during the Winter break. By the tiime I was enrolled in and actually taking the class I was already well versed in the topic and all the ideas. I already understood ideas such as multiple integrals, Lagrange Multipliers, Coordinate systems, Projections, and the theorems of Gauss, Green and Stokes, including the proofs. Indeed I was fluent enough that I was able to teach / tutor my fellow students.

Soo true!! Thanks it was very helpful.. i wish i discovered your chaneel earlier, because it gets really hard sometimes as a math major, and the math community is just like small or silent?!

Newton himself speaking!

I was a math major. Then I got seduced by computers circa 1978 or so. Hardest teacher was from India. He spoke English but not very well and spoke it at Hindi speed. Tough. Aside from that I was one of those weird people that generally understood everything said in class to "some level". But that was a curse because it took a while for me to learn to put in enough effort to understand it at real depth. Toughest was Statistics only offered at 8am. I discovered I couldn't do math worth a crap that early in the morning.

Thank you so much. I am currently struggling through my differential equations class and I needed this video 😊

Love your narrative about teaching and learning Mathematics.On the other hand,as a bibliophile,collecting books on every topic will be self defeating,waste of time and money.There are few books on how to study Mathematics,Physics,Chemistry but one can personlise a method for any subject one may choose to study.Mathematics in reality is not a continent to explore but like volcanoes ,smouldering,shedding lava in the ocean ,such as Number Theory,Fractals,Chaos Theory,like Island on the globe ,some explodindg on the seabed,Climate Change waiting for new Mathematics to present solutions, we may want novel modelling techniques to use Super Computer,dedicated polymaths for years to come,who knows?

Teaching yourself: due to a new work assignment, I've had to revisit Complex Analysis and the mathemagic of contour integrals, residues, conformal mapping, etc. I first came across Complex Analysis as a Physics Major in the 80's. In addition to cracking open my old textbooks on Mathematical Methods for Physics Geeks, I got a copy of "Applied Complex Variables" by Johh W. Dettman, and a copy of Shaum's Outline on the same. The stakes are still high since it's work-related, but it's also fun to study this in greater depth as a more "experienced" person.

It would be interesting to know how does it feel for for the Math Sorcerer to be the one who spreads math/life motivation for many people on KZfaq and to be a teacher who also brings happiness and helps many young people to realize their ambitions in real life...

Math Sorcerer is a math Genius!

Thank you very much! Your voice make me feel better and admire mathematics.

Math is Hard but math is Love

Sometimes I feel like my head is heavy when studying in deep way

Every comment has a 🧡. I'm a Chemist with a Mathematician soul 👍🏽

Studying maths is definitely time-consuming. I try economising time in studies. I keep little notebook for jotting down jargons for searches in Wikipedia, where I do lot of exploring, daily. Recently, I have been compiling a list of mathematicians (and physicians as well) in a chronological order, as I am very interested in the history of mathematics. I am studying mathematics plus its history.

6- Math takes time. So much time, you have to give up part of your life to learn it.

2:54 "Some teachers are not as good as the other ones". So true. There was a university math *Professor* (not Assistant or Associate) who, on day 1 of the class said, to the students: " I will BREAK every one of you ". I dropped the class that day and decided to use self-study to learn the topic.

I really connected with all the things you mentioned in this video. I find it crazy also that people tell me that I am very smart because I do math or I am a math major. I always say, just because I am good at math does not mean I am good at other things. For example, I can do a math problem, but If you ask me anything about history or English, I am so lost. Also, I have had a teacher that my fellow classmates did not like, but I really liked him over time. He really grew on me. I would say to anyone who is reading this to try to get close to your teachers outside of class before you judge them.

Good advice across all disciplines.

In grade 9, I hit all time low in all subjects. I get a big beefy book with explanations. I sat in a corner and start doing it Math own my own. I read all the proofs.

Thank you for this video; things and advices I will never hear from people

You are absolutely right concerning that the math majored person is respected by the people around you from my fifty years experience since my graduation of math major.

the teacher thing is very true, for majors across the board. it's also true that sometimes what people say about teachers is wrong. when I was in high school, our honors chem teacher had a horrible reputation. but when I got into his class, I did fine. teachers people loved I sometimes didn't like. it's variable!

I had a question relating to learning math in school, as well as to your points about teacher and subject differences and self study. I love self-teaching and delving into tangential material whenever I find something I enjoy, so I tend to hate the rigidity of courses and course sequences. I can get into most subjects if framed in the right way (abstract, rigorous, with big picture connections to other subjects highlighted), but I have lots of trouble connecting to most teachers' teaching styles because most are more applied and "locally-minded" than I like, leaving me to try to explore the big picture and theory on my own. This gets especially bad in Comp Sci courses (I'm doing a CS specialization) because the courses tend to be much more applied than I like, lots of emphasis on coding working algorithms or projects as opposed to writing proofs. Because of all this I have a hard time enduring "pain" for the courses I don't like even if I need to know the material, as I'll tend to focus my time disproportionately on the ones I like and neglect the other ones. Any advice about this?

It sounds like my experience has been similar to yours, Math Sorcerer. In Mathematics, in some sense, you really can become your own best professor if you develop the skills to teach yourself. Learning how to learn has proved to be the most valuable gift of my formal Mathematics education.

I needed to hear this. Thanks!

When I was having a blood test, the nurse was going on about how much of a genius I must be as I did a mathematics degree. Nah man, I'm a a regular guy who still uses a calculator to do 5+3=8 to check if I am correct (That is a true story). When I was in uni, I was there to simply know where I was supposed to be up to so that I can go home to study on my own because all lectures were power point slides. How do you teach mathematics through power points man...

I have discovered that the ability to identify exactly what you don't know is very valuable when self teaching. I find that it helps in selecting the study material you will need.

Wish I've met you 20 years ago when i was a kid!

After watching this video, I regret depending on my old math teacher to make me better at math for about 2 years, and it completely destroyed my mathematics.

I havent watched it yet but I can tell that whoever is the next math major i see, hes going to tell me something lol.

As a student studying Post Grad in Economics we have a bunch of Math to learn, Real analysis and Linear Algebra and Optimal Control and differential equations and what not. Its very important to know what Math consists of before you sign up for it because I've seen so many students struggle with it. It is a beautiful subject, but it has its own perils! Lovely video.

Regarding point #5 and the “math genius “ moniker: I have a Math PhD and for better or worse I can’t go to any local haunt (diner, bar, cigar lounge, etc.) without being referred to as “Professor “.

Couldn't agree with your last point more. People immediately place you in the "smart" category, and to be fair we math majors are pretty rare, so I can understand how a novice could see us that way. Seriously, what percentage of people in the entire world have, or are even capable of, graduate degrees in mathematics? I honestly have no idea, but the I'd guess the number is smaller than I'd want to believe. Sure, at the risk of sounding grandiose, you likely need to possess a respectable IQ to earn a mathematics degree. At the same time, and to your observation, it does feel really weird to simply be placed in the "smart" category because it almost feels like people overlook how hard I had to work for mathematical success, how much time and comfort I had to sacrifice to get my MS in Mathematics. I skipped birthdays, holidays, and even funerals during semesters. I slept on the floor atop of a cardboard box under my desk in graduate school a couple of days per week, and rarely worked less than 14 hours per day (classes, GTA work, and teaching), seven days per week. If I'm being honest, without tenacity, without indomitability, without gratitude for the opportunity to prove myself worthy to call myself a mathematics major, and without discipline, then simple smarts wouldn't have been enough. Therefore, perhaps it would be more fitting, for me at least, for people to place me in the "indomitable" category instead of the "smart" category because I was going to finish that degree with a 3.9 GPA or I was going to die trying, and considering the heart problems I developed right after graduate school, I mean that quite literally. :-)

Hello fellow math nerds, I took a different route and ultimately said “f this” years too late, got my math minor, and then went to economics. I’ve thought a lot about this and here are some tips. If you like them, cool. If you don’t, then stop reading now. I think the main prerequisite for everything, but math especially, is the ability to be able to overcome your brain to put down your phone (distractions) so that you can sit down and read. If you like math, but don’t like to read, then you’ll REALLY hate sitting down and reading math. If you’re a high schooler that is a natural at math, bad news bears, proofs suck. Solution? Start looking at proofs immediately. Not the kind that are in your geometry class either. Also, I would suggest you look at linear algebra immediately as well. I have a feeling someone might say, “linear algebra and differential equations are intertwined so blah blah blah.” My counter would be 1) you’re not going to see linear algebra until you take algebra 2 in college so you might as well take control of your neuro plasticity to the fullest extent right now and 2) linear algebra IS one of the main foundations of mathematics. There are books such as “Linear Algebra” by Kuldeep Singh (not affiliated) that is just linear algebra and has no mention of DE’s. Because one day, you’re going to be sitting in your calc 4 class going, “well calc 1, 2, and 3 seems a lot like calc 4” and then BOOM, “today we’re going to be starting linear algebra.” That’s where I hard a very hard time. “What’s the row space and column space???” “Why do I care about eigenvalues and eigenvectors???” Give yourself the edge if you’re serious about getting into math. If you are serious about math, I would say skip going to your JC, if you have the option, and go directly to university. Why? Because you can sprinkle your general education classes in your schedule while taking your math classes. It’s a hell of a lot more tolerable and you’ll save yourself the sweat, tears, doubt, and potential heartbreak if you decide to switch majors. Also, JC is not a “2 year” school. It’s more like 4. And THEN you transfer, hoping to be out in 2… however… If you graduated high school and went to a JC, here’s my story. Graduated high school. Wanted to do engineering because I was ok at math. Went to my local JC. Did a lot of GE’s and finally took calc 1 (at 7 in the morning). Bad idea. Failed that. Took it a second time, passed that and calc 2 and calc 3. Took the first calc based physics and figured out engineering was for me. “I like math. I should switch my major to math.”…. but calc 4 we had to learn almost everything in the entire book because the CSU and UC system had different requirements. I ultimately failed that and went to university. You are required to take more “higher level GE’s” for transfer students (aka, more money from you because they missed 2 years of your sweet, sweet cash). When you transfer, you’re back to being on the bottom for picking good teachers. Took the hardest teacher there. He gave us a test that was supposed to be for a 75 minute class…. Our class was about 50 minutes. So that started the cascade of failure: failed calc 4 twice. Failed proofs class twice. Failed mathematical probability twice. Failed linear algebra twice. I did pass calc 4 and proofs class finally. When you transfer, you no longer have your GE’s to sprinkle in there. Little did I know, I could only handle 2 math classes. But at that point, you’re already 4 years in. You have to take 2 more GE classes to sprinkle in… So you can either take 2 classes, which should be doable if you have lots of life to waste, 3 hard math classes…. Or more. You’re basically cornered. Or you can do what I did and fail loads of classes, wasting time and thousands of dollars, for some dream that isn’t going to come true. I was 7 years in my total schooling at that point and it was time to let go. Thankfully I passed regular ordinary differential equations with a B+, found the easiest classes to get my minor, and switched to the most logical major with my math skillz: economics. All of a sudden you have to remember how to write, but you are a GOD to your peers. I was “The Math Wizard.” Took all the hardest classes available for undergraduates and got mostly A’s in my classes (minus macro. Got C’s in both beginner and intermediate. Me and macro aren’t friends). It took me 9 and a half years to graduate with a degree. I wasted almost all of my years of neuro plasticity when I could have been doing something more productive. This is not a tail of total failure, it is a tail of being true to yourself and knowing when to quit (sooner than later) and switching to something you enjoy and kick ass at. If you’re a person that can take 3 or 4 math classes after transferring and passed them all, I hope you work for NASA or something great because DAAAAAAMN. If you’re a math major who can’t take it and wants to jump ship to economics: get you math minor if possible and also get your business minor. Or get your math minor and economics minor and get your degree in business. You’ll thank me later. Also, read up on different types of economics: Marxian, Keynesian, chicago style macro, and the Austrian’s (Hayekian and rothbardian). Economics isn’t as plan and simple as it seems. You’ll find that out soon. Good luck to you all.

Good analogy. Your 3rd point is a dream of mine. Only if time allowed it to become true.

It is ok to be categorized, as long as you get paid.

I’m pretty good at maths and won the University medal. But, most of the time, if I didn’t read up prior to a lecture, I got lost pretty quick. Sometimes book learning is better 😀

I saw "The intelligent investment" in math professor book shelf!!!