Abstract: The vastness and difficulty of mathematics is a big challenge. Embracing the uncertainty associated with learning new things has allowed me to reignite my interest in maths as I learn to find beauty in questioning and navigating the unknown – with a little help from one of my favourite films.
One of my favourite films is Little Women (2019). In this adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1869 novel of the same name, we follow four sisters. One of the sisters, Amy, ventures to Paris to pursue her passion for fine art. Despite having an obvious talent, Amy quickly finds herself overwhelmed by the artistic genius surrounding her. She claims “talent isn’t genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing.”
While fine art might be quite different to mathematics, as I become increasingly surrounded by what I perceive to be mathematical “genius”, I, like Amy, am considering what it means to be “great” in my field.
Often in movies you will see mathematics treated with an air of mystery. The answer for the movie’s biggest mathematical problem often comes from a brilliant, often obsessed, genius in a moment of pure, well, genius.
But, for me, mathematics is just myself, my laptop, and a pencil. As I become more and more interested in mathematics it seems like the more I learn, the more questions I have and the more uncertainty I feel.
But mathematicians should know all the answers! Right? Well, at least that’s what the movies say.
Ultimately, I am realising just how much I don’t know about mathematics. But I am also realising that that’s okay! In fact, I’ve learnt that welcoming this feeling of uncertainty is one of the surest hallmarks of a “great” mathematician. The sheer vastness of mathematics and the way it seems to show up everywhere in so many ways is what first drew me to the field. But this can also be quite scary. Sometimes it feels like no matter how much you learn, whether in scope or in depth, it will never be enough.
Reinvigorating my passion for mathematics has meant learning to reframe uncertainty as a good thing. This starts by asking a lot of questions and being ready to learn from the answers. I have learnt from example that the best mathematicians are willing to put themselves in situations where they have a lot to learn. Often, this is where the best ideas occur. This also means you get really good at asking questions which, as someone who just wants to learn lots of maths, is really the best skill I could ask for. Afterall, this is only just the beginning of my mathematics journey.
Throughout this project I have been learning to let go of fear of not knowing in favour of asking “how do I become better?” As Louisa May Alcott so eloquently wrote in Little Women, “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.”
Emily Sykes
Macquarie University
