Living proof : stories of resilience along the mathematical journey

Living Proof provides a wealth of stories showing even accomplished mathematicians have failed exams and that even the most well-respected members of the community have been told that they aren't cut out to be mathematicians. Sharing these stories can become an important part of someone else's story of resilience. cover copyright page Living Proof Foreword Preface Contents Part I Mathematics Just Suddenly Feels Hard! 1 In the Deep End in Algebra 2 The Road Less Traveled? 3 Help Will Always Be Given at Hogwarts to Those Who Ask for It 4 I Don’t Know What I’m Saying: Using Language as a Model for Embracing Mathematical Struggle 5 A Complex Conundrum 6 An Accidental Mathematician 7 Nowhere to Go But Up 8 Hitting the Wall 9 To Algebra or Not to Algebra 10 The Unnecessary Struggle of Self-Mandated Isolation 11 The Struggle of Qualifying Exams Part II Who Are These People? Do I Even Belong? 12 I Am a Black Mathematician 13 Cold, Austere, or Queer 14 A View of Mathematics from Behind the Veil 15 When You Are Told You Can’t: Do Just the Opposite 16 Look for the Helpers 17 Good, But Not on the Team 18 Othering and Such Climatic Joy Killers 19 Black, Female, ... Bigger 20 Moving Beyond Affirmative Action for Men 21 Struggling with the Messaging of Mathematics 22 The Harassment Is Real 23 Sustaining Through Mathematics Part III Can I Really Do This? How Do I Muster Through? 24 Good Things Come to Those Who Shower 25 Winning by Impression 26 A Walk in the Park Isn’t Always a Walk in the Park 27 Just Don’t Bomb the GRE 28 Sometimes When Your Hopes Have All Been Shattered 29 The Compassion Is Life-Changing 30 A Close Call: How a Near Failure Propelled Me to Succeed 31 Oh My Darlin’ Clementine 32 A Dream Almost Deferred Part IV What Do I Do Now? What Happens Next? 33 Mathematics, Beauty, and Creativity: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mathematics 34 Five Dollars 35 Am I “Good Enough’’? 36 My Journey from Slippery Rock to Duluth 37 Failure By the Numbers 38 How I Learned to Research Like the Incredible Hulk (or I’m Always Angry) 39 Anxiety Attacked Me, But I Survived It’s Like a Jungle Sometimes, It Makes Me Wonder How I Keep From Going Under 41 Should I Quit Mathematics? This is a powerful book that addresses a long-standing elephant in the mathematics room. Many people learning math ask Why is math so hard for me while everyone else understand it? and Am I good enough to succeed in math? In answering these questions the book shares personal stories from many now-accomplished mathematicians affirming that You are not alone; math is hard for everyone and yes; you are good enough. Along the way the book addresses other issues such as biases and prejudices that mathematicians encounter, and it provides inspiration and emotional support for mathematicians ranging from the experienced professor to the struggling mathematics student. Michael Dorff, MAA President This book is a remarkable collection of personal reflections on what it means to be, and to become, a mathematician. Each story reveals a unique and refreshing understanding of the barriers erected by our cultural focus on math is hard. Indeed, mathematics is hard, and so are many other things - as Stephen Kennedy points out in his cogent introduction. This collection of essays offers inspiration to students of mathemtics and to mathematicians at every career stage. Jill Pipher, AMS President This book is a remarkable collection of personal reflections on what it means to be, and to become, a mathematician. Each story reveals a unique and refreshing understanding of the barriers erected by our cultural focus on “math is hard.” Indeed, mathematics is hard, and so are many other things—as Stephen Kennedy points out in his cogent introduction. This collection of essays offers inspiration to students of mathematics and to mathematicians at every career stage. -- Provided by publisher The stories in Living Proof are intended to provide support and inspiration for mathematics students experiencing struggle and despair. If students keep working, if they keep seeking, they’ll be rewarded by serendipity, which is really just, as these stories remind us, the habit of mind to be engaged and to notice when something good has happened. *--Mathematical Association of America*