This page contains the questions that were asked towards the end of junior year, as a way of reflecting on what my class and I have learned as math students.
When did you have a time where you felt confused or struggled with a math concept, and how did you overcome that struggle?
There hasn’t really been a time when I’ve legitimately struggled to understand the math content being taught. I’ve certainly flagged a bit when learning a new math idea, but that is a part of learning something new, and I’ve always moved past it.
Describe the process of your Law of Large Numbers activity and how that shaped your understanding of "real" math.
From that activity, where I flipped a coin nearly a hundred and a half times, I came to the understanding of how we can use theoretical probability to calculate chance with a degree of accuracy. You might get heads once and tails three times out of four coin flips, but the chances are still 50/50 regardless. The Law of Large Numbers is the reason why we prefer to use theoretical probability over experimental.
To you, what does expression in math look like? How does being clear, precise and accurate help your growth in math and math reasoning skills?
Expression in math, hm. That sentence is a bit of an oxymoron, given that math is calculative and categorial to fine degree, while expression is quite the opposite. Math can be a terrific tool of expression however, if used properly; by that I mean that math can be a way of expressing an absolute fact or truth, or provide an explanation for something that’s seemingly impossible to pick apart and understand, like chemical reactions or black holes. Having math reasoning can help you approach problems that you normally have trouble with, and being precise in math is a skill that is very valuable in life outside of arithmetic equations. To put it a different way, if you are precise in your work, then you will only have to do it once, and it will be that much better for it.
What math does your future hold? How does math fit into the passions or goals that you have?
To be completely honest, I have absolutely no clue what kind of math my future holds for me, as I don’t know what will exactly happen in my future. I have plans, for sure, but plans are interruptible by life’s happenings. I might not use math for more than tax calculations at the grocery store, or I might have to explore the depths of quantum mechanics or irrational number theorems that require years of deep research and learning. But what I do know is that math will always be present wherever I go, and in whatever I do; after all, everything can be boiled down to an equation, and however that knowledge is used is up to me.