What is Reddit's opinion of A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form?

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> However, I am absolutely AWFUL at math (I failed College Algebra three times during my first undergrad). It doesn't come natural to me; but I would be willing to buckle down and sweat over it to make it through the program.

Math doesn't come natural to 99.9999% of people. It's a learned skill like any other, that's perishable, and that with enough study and practice anyone that doesn't have some exceptional circumstance (such as a learning disability) can do.

Fear of mathematics is something that infects a lot of people - but as someone that used to outright abhor mathematics - I came to find that sitting down and taking it for what it is - just another subject to learn and apply to my life - was the easiest way to remove the mystique of mathematics and actually learn it.

If you're a reader, there's a short book called A Mathematician's Lament that will make you feel better about why you've probably had such a struggle with mathematics. It's written for the laymen and is a rumination (not a mathematics book) - it's also cheap, about $1.50 to read via a Kindle.

You may also find Keith Devlin's Introduction to Mathematical Thinking (Free) to be a rewarding investment for learning how to properly think about problems in a mathematical way.

And for instruction, practice and learning there's Khan Academy (Free)

Happy you liked it! The author actually developed this essay into a book. I haven't read that one but you might like it.