Welcome to Unexpected Maths!
I'm Wolfie, and I'll be your wonderful guide throuɡh all the topics we'll explore.
But what am I doing here, anyway?
...you're probably here by accident. But that's okay! Everyone is welcome on this journey!
...what journey? I thought this was a maths blog?
The journey though Maths we'll be taking, of course! You thought this was a static subject?
...To be honest, I've never given it much thought.
...And that's exactly the attitude I aim to change!
...Can we stop with this weird pseudonarrative thing we're doing now?
Fiiiiiine.
My Goal with this blog
Maths is a subject that pervades everything we do, if only we know where to look. What I aim to do is to show you just how interconnected this wonderful subject is, and how Maths is much more of a game you play- with rules, players and fun- than the rote learning, equations and dullness you might be familiar with. While some "traditional high school maths" will be used where we need it, I aim to avoid as much of this as I can- and explain it where it can't be avoided in a simple, intuitive way. I want to try and convince even the most maths-phobic person that they CAN do maths- even if the maths they're looking at isn't what they've struggled with in the past. I want to make abstract things concrete, and break complex ideas down into simple, intuitive ones.
I've got this friend, Lucy, who's always struggled with Maths. Not in the sense of 1+1=2, but more in the abstract sense of the word. She recently told me, though, that once she started using some of the maths she'd struggled with in the past in her new job, it started to make sense. This is exactly the feeling I want to recreate here.
Now, if you're ready to jump in, check out our first topic- all about building a factory with a really weird construction manager... else, read on below to learn more about me!
About the Author
My name's Wolfie, I'm 23 at the time of writing, and I've been thinking about Mathematics since I was really young. I was one of those kids who would always be asking questions that the teacher couldn't answer. Not because I knew the answer and they didn't (mostly), but because there were always patterns and sequences that I'd see that weren't that relevant to the topic at hand, so would have to be left until after the lesson to discuss. Unfortunately, it wasn't until it was 17 that I'd actually get a teacher willing to see me after class to discuss things like this- thank you to my three Maths teachers at A-level for reinvigorating my love of the - but by that point, my love of Chemistry and Physics was firmly cemented.
As I type this, I've just graduated with a 2:2 BSc in Chemistry from a wonderful university that's been my intellectual home for the past 5 years. I'm starting a Research Master's in Computational Chemistry in September of this year, and I can't wait (I'll probably end up talking about a few of the topics I'm studying at some point too, so watch this space). However, during these summer months, I've been thinking hard about starting this blog- and thinking hard about a number of topics I'm planning to talk about!
While Chemistry is ultimately what I'd like to go into, Maths has always been a draw to me- especially the more applied aspects of pure maths topics. Some of my other passions include Music, Gaming, and Education, so expect the first two to inspire several topics, and of course the whole aim of the blog is to educate!
Aaanyway, enough about me- let's get to talking about Unexpected Maths!
-Wolfie <3
