18
$\begingroup$

I am a soon-to-be high school graduate with inclination towards mathematics. I enjoy doing math, and am relatively good at it, but I dislike the way I am being taught. I feel like I am being taught methods for solving a lot of problems, but I don't see how any of this fits together.

I was considering pursuing a career in mathematics, but I realized I don't really know much about it as a whole as opposed to how to solve specific problems that will appear on some test.

Are there any good books out there about the "math mindset", or whatever it is that it's called?

  • 3
    @ Mosby Toych: I think I feel a bit the same as you. You should take a look at Gower's : "Mathematics: A very short Introduction" on amazon. I think you will find that very interesting. For more books on mathematics, look around on mathoverflow.com and see my profile. My 'most-viewed' question has a lot of good answers related to your question.2010-11-01
  • 2
    @ Mosby Toych: Another good book is "What is Mathematics" by Richard Courant. I'm not sure whether or not it's a good indication for a book on mathematics to be 'good', but Einstein called it "a lucid representation of the fundamental concepts and methods of the whole field of mathematics". A while ago, I decided to buy it and I enjoy reading it at the moment. It can be understood by high-school students in the higher classes (and perhaps the ambitious pupils in the lower grades, too). The only thing that bugged me whas that it doesn't contain any answers to the exercises.2010-11-01
  • 1
    This should probably be a community wiki; I realize Mosby cannot make it so, but perhaps a moderator can.2010-11-01
  • 1
    Perhaps tangential to your question, but [Lockhart's Lament](www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf) is an enjoyable elaboration on your complaint about how mathematics is taught in grade school. Lockhart is a research mathematician and you might enjoy the way his "mindset" is exposed.2010-11-01
  • 4
    You might enjoy reading "The Shape of Space" by Jeffery Weeks or "The Book of Numbers" by John Conway and Richard Guy. Ask your library to buy them so somebody else can find them when you leave.2010-11-01

4 Answers 4