Amen. I remember loving math at age 12 (grade 7 here in Jamaica), and hating it up to recently. I honestly don't know how I passed my high school exams. I got the lowest grade you could pass with.

I started a CS degree at the University of Technology in Jamaica in August 2005. We had to take an aptitude test to get in, which included some math. I passed, not because I understood the math, but because I could reason things well.

I started programming (in Python) at age 14 or so, and knew I was good at it. What bothered me at Uni was that I knew somewhere that I was good at math, because I understood programming. I actually told my classmates so. We had PreCalculus in the first semester. I failed of course; I'd stopped attending classes and took the time to learn some things from scratch. I actually picked leaves and played with them till understood how number systems, basic operations, fractions and exponents work! I was working out of an American elementary school textbook. My friends thought I was crazy, but I knew, somewhere, that I was right.

During the summer after year 1, I got offered a job by a man working as technical consultant to a telecommunications startup. I went to his house the Sunday afternoon, and Monday morning I reported to work, in the only 'work clothes' I had. When the summer was up, I stayed on. The pay sucked, but I would have done ANYTHING not to go back to school. Luckily, the man who had hired me was also 'anti-school.' He knew his telecoms well; self taught. My parents, naturally, wanted me to go to school, but they didn't push me, knowing I can be quite...strong-minded.

It was at that job I first realized just how good I was. Within a few months, I was conducting interviews for the IT department. I interviewed university grads, and most of them didn't even come close. I remember asking one of them about the Nyquist Theorem (which I knew only cursorily). I swear he nearly jumped out of the chair! I was obviously younger than he, and asking advanced questions. I loved it.

What I discovered about myself at that job was that I TRULY love to learn! Most people just. dont. care. They only want to know that they pass the exams. They don't have that child-like curiosity about how things work. I didn't have a computer at the time, so I stayed at work till 11pm most nights, just reading online books, whitepapers and tutorials. I was walking lonely streets to get to the taxi stand after work, but I didn't care. I was learning. Safety second. On some nights, I'd call a cab to take me home, which cost the equivalent of $5USD. We were paid weekly-the equivalent of about $60USD. But I didn't care. I was learning, and loving it.

In the past few months, I've experienced what can best be described as a 'creative awakening' (insert moving music here). I've started writing and drawing again, and am actually starting out in graphic design. I'm listening to more classical music and operas, and listening to less rap, dancehall and reggae. I came across Lockhart's Lament, and it rang so true that I had to put it down a few times. Vindication tastes good; you can believe that.

Lockhart makes the point that mathematics is a creative endeavor like any other. I remember always wondering why the quadratic equation equaled 0. Why not 543.98? I didn't understand what exactly they were trying to accomplish. A few months ago, before my 'creative awakening,' (sounds esoteric, doesn't it) I started spending my days at the library. (I was fired from the job, a few months before the entire group of companies crashed, the CEO is now on bail, go figure). I came across a book about the history of Mathematics, from the Egyptians and Babylonians to Hero of Greece,and his postulate that all lines are equal since they have corresponding points(Google it). It then talked about the Hindus. Turns out, they have to build their altars with specific proportions, and developed quadratics as a means to that end. I was furious. Why hadn't I been taught this at 15? But I was also delighted: I'd always felt that many of those who got good grades in Maths class didn't really understand it, they could only apply formulas to specific exercises. I felt that I was now in an exclusive club. I haven't visited the library since that day; got distracted, you see (you know how nerds are).

But this is why Lockhart's Lament rang so true. He's also not the only one to criticize contemporary Math education. Google "Morris Kline" who's written books on the subject. Richard Feynman also wrote on just how abominably bad most textbooks are.

Damn, is it 8:55 PM already? I'm actually at a friends house; I came to get me some cake and icecream.