X equals what?

As I have mentioned before I recently picked up a calculus book I had lying around. There are few people (except for mathematicians I guess) that would have a brick of a book on “Calculus and Analytic Geometry” sitting on a shelf between a jewellery book and a Zadie Smith novel but I do. In my utter boredom and need to make my mind work I picked it up thinking I would, with some ease, be able to grasp the concepts that I last viewed about 10 years ago.

I was wrong.

It wasn’t that I didn’t recognize them it was that I forgot most of the terminology and couldn’t understand what the book was trying to explain or looking for in answers to the exercises. When I saw the equations and graphs they looked familiar but that was all that triggered anything in my memory. I sadly felt a little defeated. I put the book down and walked away from it.

A few days later I decided I still wanted to renew my love for math. This book I had may have been too high of a level for me but I didn’t have to start there I could start with another book. Unfortunately I didn’t have another math book at home (actually I have an accounting book but that stuff is boring) and I couldn’t find my highschool math binders with all my calculus notes (yes I kept them, I just don’t know where) so I headed to the bookstore.

They had a surprisingly small section for math (3 shelves) but a lot of what they had was exactly what I was looking for. Yes there were books on mathematical theory written by world renowned mathematicians that very few people would understand but there were exercise books and text books as well. I refused to even acknowledge the “Idiots” guides and the “For Dummies” series. I find those books insulting (I am no dummy or idiot) and overly simplified. I flipped through the other books and found a great pre-calculus book.

It’s a book published by Barron’s that is part of “The Easy Way” series. It is laid out like text book with explanations, examples, and exercises but the language is easy to follow. It isn’t filled with unexplained jargon, all terminology is well defined.

Pre-calculus is apparently algebra which is fine with me because I seem to remember algebra (so far). I am going through all the chapters systematically like if I was in school. I read through, take notes, and assign myself homework. I bought myself a notebook and everything. I am missing a calculator but my cell phone seems to be filling in fine for right now.

I am feeling kind of proud of myself that I am taking the initiative to learn and improve my skills in something that most people try their best to ignore and forget about. I think it is just something good to know. You never know when you are going to have to figure out how old Robert is if George is twice as old as Edward and Edward’s age exceeds Roberts by 4 and the sum of their ages is 56.

Tra

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