My name is Matthew Henderson. I have been using math, both consciously and subconsciously, since I learned to count, and possibly even before that.
Numbers became most significant to me when I was in fifth grade and started playing in the school band. I’m pretty sure I counted more in band class than in any other class I’d taken previously, even math. I played in band throughout high school, though I never gave much thought to its mathematical significance until recently.
I didn’t care much for school when I started attending high school. I was much more interested in skateboarding, biking, video games, movies and nearly every other cliché distraction that education is pitted against. It wasn’t until I was failing my first algebra class that math made a conscious impact on my life. My algebra teacher took me aside and met with my parents to discuss the importance of mathematics. I’m still not sure if it was his speech, or if it was that he simply showed interest in my development; whatever it was, it worked and I had a newfound vigor for learning mathematics.
I did so well throughout the rest of high school, that when I entered college, the school offered me a job as an algebra tutor. I took the job. I discovered quickly that explaining mathematics is much more difficult than performing mathematics.
I dropped out of college my sophomore year and began working full time. I pursued an interest in photography and soon landed a job as a studio photographer for an online store. There were several instances where I had to use mathematics in sizing photos, timing shots, estimating distance, and adjusting light and aperture settings. My digital photo editing soon turned into graphic design which brought on a whole new slew of mathematic problems (i.e. how many 2.5in x 3.5in business cards fit on an 8.5in x 11in piece of paper with .25in margins).
Graphic design soon turned into web design which was mathematically similar to graphic design, but in a completely virtual and intangible environment and usually measured in a new unit of measure; the pixel.
Utilizing my natural intuition with computers, I eventually started working as an IT Director which was a bit of a jump from design work, but fascinating to me because of the diversity of the job. I am currently working as an IT Director where, everyday, I have several mathematical problems.
Most of the math I use in my business is percentages and ratios and, in the business spirit of immediacy, I generally rely on my computer to solve these problems for me.
About two years ago, I earned my private pilot’s license. Training for that license required copious amounts of math. From plotting courses, estimating times in route, estimating fuel usage, compensating for crosswinds, finding the plane’s center of gravity and even using the compass, I found myself surrounded in a mathematical cockpit.
I think my favorite part of mathematics is its application to physics. I am fascinated by physics and how the functions of our everyday environment can be explained and expanded through equations and mathematic rules. I love playing billiards because its angles and reactions are like an interactive physics display. I feel the same about skateboarding, but instead of a flat table, I get to explore an entire geometric playground and experiment with gravity.
It has been nearly ten years since I’ve been in a structured math education environment. Since then I have certainly used to my advantage the technology at my fingertips. Some might call it “cheating”, and in a lot of ways I might be cheating myself, but I prefer to rationalize and call it “resourcefulness."
I use math every day, however, I can’t always explain my processes or theories. I think this class will be beneficial to me, not only as a re-introduction into mathematical learning, but also as a introspective look into why I use the formulas I do, instead of just blindly accepting them as truths.
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