Adventures in Math: How to Level Up Your Math Game
1 INTO THE JUNGLE Imagine you're an explorer trying to find your way out of the jungle You start walking in one direction The vines are too dense it's a dead end You turn back You find another path but it's steep You zigzag your way up back and forth slow and steady You keep going hoping that at the top you'll see the path out But when you finally reach the top a thick fog descends You continue walking Are you making any progress at all Haven't you passed by that same rock before Suddenly the fog lifts At that moment you see what you couldn't see before Eureka You break into a run along the path Could it be possible that you've found the way out You push on
Math is hard It takes time You might feel frustrated But it's also an adventure And when you find the solution you'll be excited and feel a sense of accomplishment Welcome to the jungle MYTH People who are good at math are born that way They have a math brain that others don't They can do math quickly and easily TRUTH Everyone who is good at math works hard at it Everyone can get better at math with effort Math myths are harmful in a sneaky sort of way They suggest that some people are math people and others are not and nothing can be changed about it Worse you don't even know you're affected by these rigid beliefs Throughout this book we'll look at different math myths To help debunk them you'll read about people who have used math to do amazing things Their stories will help change how you think about math- and your ability to do it well
MARYAM MIRZAKHANI Born May 12 1977 Iran It is like being lost in a jungle and trying to use all the knowledge that you can gather to come up with some new tricks and with some luck you might find a way out In sixth grade Maryam Mirzakhani didn't think she was very good in math and neither did her teacher When her teacher handed back the marked final tests for the class Maryam shredded hers and put the scraps in her backpack She told her best friend Roya she wasn't going to try to do better at math The next year Maryam had a different teacher who was more encouraging Maryam and Roya enjoyed math so much that they wanted spots on Iran's Math Olympiad team which competed against different countries The two friends were determined to go even though Iran had never had girls on their team before Maryam and Roya found copies of old tests and tried them It took them days to answer half the questions In the real test they'd have only hours Still they knew they could do it if only they had the right instruction They asked their principal for help Their school created a course for them like the boys had on how to answer the Olympiad questions The girls earned places on the team and returned home with medals Roya won silver Maryam won gold Maryam and Roya went on to have successful careers in mathematics teaching and researching at prestigious universities Maryam was the first Iranian and the first woman to win the Fields Medal one of the highest honors a mathematician can receive To keep learning Maryam worked slowly and deeply She asked lots of questions She persevered Although Maryam died from cancer in 2017 she continues to inspire people There is an annual math award called the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize for female mathematicians
