College maths ( at least for me ) is so much different than anything learned previously. It's no longer about being good at memorising formulas or having good arithmetic (though they do help ;D ), but about proving the formulas and being creative in how to imagine various different ideas.

Thank you. The suite always reminds of the beauty of math!

You're quite welcome! And it does the same for me. Ever since I was in middle school, ignorant of most of the beauty of mathematics, it reminded me of what relatively little beauty I then recognized.

The idea that you need a "gift" to be good at maths is one of the greatest misconceptions about the field

GH Hardy wrote in his Apology of a Mathematican that maths is like are and poetry .When i met the mathematician who was described as the true successor to Einstein i said to him in1998 that only great mathematician like him can unlock the mysteries of the universe. Edward Witten in 2000 when launched clay mathematics prize for 7 unsolved problems in mathematics said that physics await 21st century mathematics for solutions to theory of everything.Frontier mathematics is a creative endeavor.

Mathematics is the highest form of art. Fight me.

Excellent!

These videos seem to suggest that mathematicians struggle to coherently convey meaning through words.

The Beauty of Reason; the Reason of Beauty.

Well, I am good at math and I don't think it is really about memorizing formulas. It is about understanding them and then you will memorize them automatically.

While there might be people who are predisposed to being good at maths (for psychological and social reasons more than biological I like to believe) the word "gifted" is very loaded, it disregards all the hard work that the people have inevitably put into becoming as good as they are.

I looked up Tanniemola Liverpool. His work sounds fascinating.

If you can't remember formulas, try to understand how they're derived. In fact, that's the fun in learning Math. A lot of times, I start reading up on a new Math topic and it seems impossible to understand, but when I do, it feels great because it sort of feels exciting that I didn't know "that could be done" or "we could think like that". Maybe ask your teacher. Or maybe you have taken that approach. Then again, we usually have no choice but to remember formulas at first.

Mathematics is very creative - not in the sense of expressing emotions, but in every other sense.

Does anyone know the violin piece in the beginning?

Not violin; cello. And it's Bach's prelude to cello suite number 1

If you really have an interest for a subject, you would find it easy to memorise things regarding the subject. Actually, I should speak for myself but I believe that is true maybe 80% of the time. Because I know my memory is poor but I recall when I used to have a great interest in Engineering, and the 1st few months when I started Engineering course I kept thinking about what I've learnt, even to the point of having trouble falling asleep.

You should see if you're good at the creative side. If you are, you'll find your memory and calculation side eventually stops mattering so much!

That's a tough call to make. One needs to be able to see past the algebra and the proofs to some deeper meaning. It's not about symbols and formulae. Some of my peers in physics just can't handle advanced pure mathematics and they are some of the most gifted people I know. I've spent a lot of time pondering whether or not everyone can learn mathematics given sufficient time and proper training to match ability.

Math Overflow is one of the largest communities of mathematicians and I find many of them to be non-objective and really dishonest as it relates to creativity and proof. What we're promoting to the public about mathematicians and mathematics is public relations.

You know what? I'm worried about sounding stupid. Just disregard my previous responses.

Mathematician talks faster than average human

That's about the dum----st question I've ever heard.

But then there's the kind of maths with absolutely no real-world applications (at least not yet) that is just for the sake of itself.

Noice