So as mentioned a couple times already, I’ve bought a bunch of books and my intent is to work through them. I want to get better at mathematics and at computer science – real computer science, not “merely” programming. I’m not exactly renowned for my followthrough, so maybe this will go nowhere. But I have done hard things in the past, and it would be good to do another. Anyway, here is a tentative ordering of how I’d like to work through these books.

Last night, as I lay in bed, drifting off to sleep, I wondered: why have I always disliked math? I like solving problems. I like logic puzzles. I like programming – I’m a software engineer. I like elegance and efficiency and cleverness. And mathematics should appeal to both my rational and my spiritual sides. It’s transcendent. So why, when I was given math worksheets, particularly in sixth grade and beyond, did I turn away?

Inspired by Dan Luu’s post… To explain my programming career, I’d like to tell you a true story about how I joined my high school marching band. As a junior, I signed up for the class, not being able to read or play music (I played guitar, but very poorly). Mostly because I needed more credit hours, due to the number of classes I’d failed. The band director didn’t know what to do with me; he certainly didn’t have enough time to teach me to play an instrument.