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Showing posts with label High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label High School. Show all posts

This Book Saved My High School Career

    Math was never my top subject. If I could have had my way, six year old David's school life would have involved nothing but reading books all day, and perhaps completing the occasional word problem or two. I was good enough to constantly get stellar grades in math, but it was always a chore for me. And I was a lazy kid. I hated any subject that required actual studying on my part.

    Anyway, in 8th grade I had the world's worst algebra teacher. He took a disliking to me for whatever reason and seemed (in my opinion) to pick on me above all others. He actually told me to my face one day that I was a poor student and would never figure out math. How f'd up is that? As you can imagine, I didn't do so well in his class. Eventually I got my act together by the end of the year to pass, but it was a hard battle.

    After that year, I actually believed I was really bad at math, and so I didn't apply myself the way I should have when I went on to high school. Things got really bad to the point I was on the verge of flunking geometry and possibly having to repeat a grade because of it. I was stressed out beyond belief. I had one last major test to prove myself and make up for the poor year I had had up to that point. The test was a super tests of sorts, a New York State oddity called a "regents" exam. I actually felt the cold dread of failure grip my heart as the day approached.

    I studied my ass off like no sorry math cripple had ever studied before. Notes, text books, Regents-prep courses -- I did them all! And while I did actually pass the exam with a good grade, I of course thank none of these things for my success. :-)

    No, you see, it is the book above that did it for me. I firmly believe this. Neverness is a hard book to get through, but it had a major impact on me nonetheless. The story takes place in the far future on an ice world colonized by humans thousands of years prior. The protagonist is a deep space pilot trainee studying to get his license. In this future, piloting spacecraft requires, among other traits, an affinity for complex mathematical algorithms and a near photographic memory to boot. The plot happened to be a really good one, too, which I suppose is why the book resonated with me. In any event, I used it as my inspiration when going to take my test. I pretended I was the protagonist, and that this regents exam was really my pilots exam. Except if I failed, I would die.

    You think that's extreme, huh? Just remember, I was a 15 year old male in high school. Teenage boys dwell on that sort of high melodrama. :)

    Anyway, the book actually opened up a love of mathematics for me. While I would never be deemed brilliant at the subject, I wasn't too shabby, either, for the rest of my years in high school. I was particularly good at trig, which surprised me. Everything about it just clicked for me. I ended up getting a 108% score on my final -- 100% for getting every single problem correct, and an additional 8 points for answering both extra credit questions correctly too! I was on fire that year!

    I then went on to college and completed Calculus I and II when I thought I would be preparing for Med school. Yeah, the whole doctor thing fell through obviously, but at least I can say I faced my childhood fears concerning math and overcame them (and then some!) I'm proud of that much.

    But it just goes to show the power of a young mind sufficiently motivated. One of my dreams is to someday have enough money or clout to produce an interactive sci-fi video game that uses mathematics in a fun way to, I dunno, power fighter ships through space or build suped-up, badass mech fighters or something. Basically, something that would appeal to a teenage boy or girl and show them that math can be fun if you spin it a certain way.

    I'm serious. I would really *love* to make this happen someday.
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