Why I failed to become a mathematician...

[@brianarbenz1329]

I failed to become a mathematician for the simple reason that there was always something great on TV the night before every test I had. So it’s Vladimir Zworkin’s fault.

The Ukrainian reporter who grills Russian POWs?

[@McFlashh]

I agree. Even though I get pretty good grades in mathematics, I know I could become a much better mathematician but I'm not putting anywhere near as much work as the top mathematicians do so I can only blame myself.

[@brianarbenz1329]

No, Zworkin was the inventor of the cathode ray tube and several other devices that make TV possible. He is credited with being the overall inventor of television, the bane of those of us who were undisciplined in our youths.

[@GrooveStreet4Life310]

You didn't focus because you didn't have an aim to follow. Maths is tool not the aim itself. This is why you weren't willing enough to study it

[@Nuss-j4s]

math is not about passing exams, it is about solving problems and discovering structures. but tbf most people have no idea what a mathematician does but think they solve exams or do derivatives all day, which is kinda ridiculous

[@tomellman2418]

I love mathematics because it is not about people. Mathematics is a place where I can be alone by myself Focusing on logic and abstraction. It is a place where I can temporally be free from the pressures of daily life.

[@kristianfella-glanville]

It's because life is uncertain and I hate the ambiguity of it. I love maths because it's certain and you know exactly what to do

[@mannyechaluce3814]

I also Love Meth

[@brianarbenz1329]

@tomellman2418 There's a lot of truth in that. I can identify.

[@davidc4408]

That is why I did it as a degree. 1. The problem solving. 2 . Do not need to depend on anyone to do the work but just collaborate if needed to help understand, again if can not solve myself. 3. It is exact as you can get and if you work hard easy to score full 4.0 GPA. 4. Lots of masters it can lead and many lucrative careers.

[@brianarbenz1329]

@traybern You failed to capitalize the first word. GOOD one... etc.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

I failed to become a mathematician because I'm stupid. Hope that helps.

[@ryangibara3797]

The main point of your video aside, it has also brought up another important point: prematurely judging a field. As a mathematician, you work with collaborators in your department and around the world, you teach sometimes hundreds of students every semester, and you closely mentor other people who are in the process of becoming mathematicians. To go with the great advice you gave in this video, I would add another: talk to people. When deciding on career A or B, one of the best things to do is talk to as many people from both careers as possible and ask question that can help you decide if the given career will improve your overall quality of life.

[@tititiwon]

I dont think she prematurely judged a field. I think she is right about the social component. It is true that you have collaborators, but your work does not extrictly depend on human or social interactions to move forward. You are still the main contributor. Whereas in other fields like medicine, you need to interact with people for everything. With your patients or clients, with your colleages for a surgery, etc. Even if you compare maths with other academical fields, you will realise that collaborations are much lesser. Papers at most have 5 authors. In other fields, you have thousands of collaborators. You depend on laboratories, private companies other universities, etc. Having said that, check "Machine assisted proof" by Terence Tao (kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5Lci6ireal-hpI), he acknowledge the collaboration issue in maths and he believes Machine assisted proofs might get large collaborations come closer. Have a nice day!

[@RalphDratman]

Thank you for expounding this. It has helped me see myself more clearly. I failed to become a mathematician or a physicist mainly because I only really enjoyed those parts of physics and mathematics that could be mastered by intuition. As it turned out, only a few parts of the early curriculum in college could be done that way. I did not have the determination to get into the parts that were not intuitive, that required study, memorization and drill. I did, however, become a computer hardware and software developer. All of that could be done by intuition in my frame of reference.

[@arlieferguson7442]

The main reason I stopped doing mathematics is simply that it started to feel like a bunch of puzzles after a while without any broader significance.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

Since 7th grade, I wanted to be a "biological synthesist". I just knew I wanted to do some amazing bionanotechnology, a word that I did not know at the time (1977) and that may not have existed at that time either. Fast forward to between my 3rd and 4th years in college, finishing my BChE (chemical engineering degree with a minor in Russian), and I knew I had to pursue a math PhD in order to learn what other mathematicians knew in order to solve all the differential equations in chemical engineering in order to solve these problems in bionanotechnology. I finally earned a Masters (1991) and PhD (2000) in math. I am 60 and these are STILL my goals. So, I never decided to "be a mathematician" when I was younger, and I never intended to teach math. I pursued this line of work out of physical scientific necessity. The math has to be solved.

[@pranav_chalotra]

Not all Mathematicians are Anti-Social..

[@allvods1385]

No, but interacting with other mathematicians is often very painful. In fact, lack of social skills and ability to conversate normally are very common in my own experience

[@kristianfella-glanville]

Yeah from my experience they're weird and difficult to speak to. Even when I was doing it for 10 hours a day for my masters I noticed that it became more difficult to speak to people because my brain is living in this strange and abstract world

[@brianarbenz1329]

And not all socialists are anti-Math.

[@lowkeydemodest8381]

​@@brianarbenz1329 Huh??! Old man,who said socialists are anti-math? Are you still brainwashed with that redscare bs?

[@brianarbenz1329]

@@lowkeydemodest8381 Excuse me? I was making a lighthearted joke. Or did you get the joke, and I am not understanding that you are joking. One way or another, it's a failure to communicate here. As for redscare bs, I have been a socialist for nearly 50 years. I've been pleading with my friends not to be brainwashed by redscare propaganda since there was no roman numeral in the title of Star Wars.

[@michaelle1229]

I failed to become a mathematician because I always thought maths just about numbers and variables to play around floating on a textbook. Once I first attended university it got harder and challenging into my third year, endlessly staring one problem at the time. I never enjoyed it, as a skill it challenges your capable thinking and problem-solving skills. In the end I kept grinding self-taught through problems through khan academy or additional readings to keep with the curriculum, ended up finishing my stats degree doing less pure mathematics such as complex analysis reminded me why I hated real analysis and mathematics overall. Just an iterative process of gathering more logic and information. Hoping to add some value later in life (in analytics, data science, commerce, finance etc..,). P.S. I am finishing my Masters degree hoping to land a role that does involve mathematics (many jobs only use partially/portion of it).

[@user-bg9nc8wq7u]

And I am the opposite, here I am finishing medical school wishing I could be a mathematician hhaha life

[@TheOnknk]

Same man. I am a chemist, did a PhD. I am leaving it all aside to study mathematics. Hope you take also the path. Only one life, remember.

[@TavoLL1511]

I'm in math and one of my classmates came after her studies in medical school.

[@vnever9078]

It's cool to see people from other fields so interested in math whilst also bearing some establishments in their own!

[@BarriosGroupie]

Also, remember that our life is a journey rather than a destination, and making it into a destination will end up causing long term problems for ourselves which will eventually catch up with us: such as burn out or worse, a breakdown of some type. Our biological makeup is a masterpiece of engineering so take care of it.

[@factsliesandalibis]

LOL!! I have a PhD in Applied Mathematics. I can tell you I am extremely social and actually an extrovert.

[@jpa_fasty3997]

As do I, and I can definitely see where she's coming from. If you work in academia as a mathematician, it can be a very lonely endeavour whether you're an extrovert or not. There are lots of careers where you can use your maths phd to good effect and be a part of a team, but very few where you'd explicitly claim to be a 'mathematician'.

[@ai_serf]

But if you did get a PhD, you could have gotten a job with the world's best teams, working with many amazing people. I feel math is very social, but not until you become super elite. So, it's a weird domain. You have to reach a professional athlete level of success. It's not for everyone, for sure.

[@douglasstrother6584]

You have to find your "Knack". Maybe a STEM degree is the right path, maybe learning a trade. Experiment. Do. Be open-minded. Write down all of the things you'd like to try and sort them by "Job" and "Hobby". Do several iterations. It's the advice I gave to my kids & they are doing well building lives for themselves. After clawing my way through High School Chemistry in my Junior Year, I gave Physics a shot since it was the last science course offered; if that fell apart "Scientist" would get scratched off my list. During my Senior Year, Mr. "N" helped me *rediscover* Physics: I was all into gizmos and contraptions when I was a little kid. It was revolutionary to discover that a thing called a "Physics Major" existed! Out of all of the other possibilities I was considering, he collapsed my wave function and vectored me into Physics. That was a while ago: "Against the Wind" by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band was a hit. We both have held-up pretty well!

[@davidc4408]

I failed be a mathematician as the thought of doing a PhD was too daunting and I wanted to make lots of $$$. I did stick out a mathematics degree at a top university and then did MSc financial mathematics and made first $10 million before 35.

[@jigsaw2253]

Suuuurrree bro

[@coffle1]

@@jigsaw2253 Places like Citadel way pay ~500k a year. If you invest that money on your own correctly, it's extremely viable to grow it to $10 million

[@aulasdematematicaefisica]

I believe you are not familiar with the field of mathematics. In addition to pure mathematics, there is applied mathematics, teaching mathematics... You connect with people, in fact mathematics is connected with everything, it is a human construction.

[@Tommy_007]

No, it is a human discovery. (And most likely an alien discovery.)

[@bart-v]

because you put the red book between the white and the blue ones.

[@ronron2312]

Science is all about interacting with people.

[@adsffdaaf4170]

Thanks for this video. I am working on finishing up a chemistry degree I left, one more class to finish. After that, I am either starting a small business or an academic 180, and going to a theological seminary.

[@jamesbedukodjograham5508]

I believe that mastering Language is more important than to be good at Mathematics either the WASSCE or the SAT out there.

[@bedwalia]

What about being good at both. As a Persian and Arabic language expert I know many geniuses of these languages are also a great astronomers I mean mathematicians who writes poetry in spare times as hobby but now they are famous for their hobbies rather than their actual work.

[@minerran]

Very interesting video and I like your ideas. People try to reduce every decision or conclusion into a binary choice but life is "analog" not digital or binary.

[@davidsault9698]

Each person has to figure out what their particular accent to the human motivation array is in order to build a behavior-space that satisfies it to the greatest extent for happiness.

[@JDoe-gf5oz]

I fail at a new thing every year.

[@NewCanadianTurtle]

I failed to become one because I couldn't compete with those Asian foreign exchange students

[@chandrapandey822]

NewCanadianTurtle I don't understand your statement, how does studying along with Asians in the Class made you fail in your exams, I mean you performance depends on your hardwork which is in your hands..... And studying along with Asians who are smarter than you is actually a blessing in disguise as it is a good source of motivation..... I think you should be more positive. PhD Math.

[@chandrapandey822]

Novantix Oh gosh I haven't updated since 2015... I'm 26 now and will probably complete it by next year

[@helladbaabderrahim238]

@@chandrapandey822 are you doing maths bro ?I hope I have friends to discuss math with ?

[@faithlesshound5621]

European exchange students also say that American high school classes are really easy, so even if they had been average students at home they were top of the class in the US: except in sports, where the American kids were streets ahead. The problem is that high school kids in the US may "graduate" while 1 or 2 years behind their contemporaries in other countries.

[@user-mn3ez2kl3v]

My college abstract algebra book contained a handful of biographies about mathematicians throughout history. The biographies went something like, "this person who made major contributions to (some math area) also suffered from (some disease, disability, depression, mental illness, traumatic experience, etc)." I was thinking wow this career and area of study doesn't sound to promising.

[@Nuss-j4s]

maybe u should have taken up functional analysis, people there are much happier overall.

[@Matlockization]

You are completely right.

[@pm7317]

Not sure why one makes a video about a career they didn’t enter. It usually has something to do with a combination of lack of interest and lack of ability in that field.

[@bastiaanstapelberg9018]

Goede cijfers halen op wiskunde maken je geen wiskundige of natuurlundige. En dat is absoluut niet falen hoor. Ken een aantal wiskundigen en natuurkundigen en die vertellen stuk voor stuk dat zij nooit een studie als 'rechtsgeleerdheid' kunnen volbrengen. Ieder mens heeft wel ergens een aanleg voor en daarbij komt nog heel veel kijken om zo aanleg te laten ontplooien, sowieso (veel) geld om een universitaire opleiding te bekostigen, sowieso een stabiele thuissituatie zodat je je volop kan concentreren, want wetenschap komt niet met slapen aanzetten, en nog veel meer factoren. Pas als je in die gelukkige situatie zit dat je je talent ten volste kan ontplooien maak je een kans in de slangenkuil die 'wetenschap' wordt genoemd.

[@ZaibiDesigner]

Hey Dr Amina, I just watched your video and I must say that it was really informative and well-made. I was wondering if I could help you edit your videos and also highly engaging thumbnails which will help your video to reach to a wider audience.

[@-es2bf]

mathematics is a highly social field where collaboration is the way to success. Are you living on another planet?

[@Saifmansour95]

You failed because the failure was success in the eye of the universe at least this is what I imagined

[@mathematicsandstuff]

I thought your segments are bad, honestly.

[@rickardroach9075]

That settles it… I don’t love people, so maths it is! 🤓

[@insertyourfeelingshere8106]

isn't the point of studying math to be around other people who study math

[@msd5808]

She looks like a mathematician

[@peterfireflylund]

So math was too hard for you?

[@shrikantkumar6842]

How are you Amina

[@tormentedterror]

Do what you like.

[@darrenupton5500]

I love maths but im a bit thick. Oh, well.

[@shrikantkumar6842]

I'm a court married

[@MrProudindian001]

mathematics is basis for various innovatiovations that today are basis of medicine, military and logistics operations. Your views are grossly wrong here

[@hamzzr7351]

How I can be a mathematician

[@TheOnknk]

Lets work together, I am also trying to figure it out

[@krishnendukar1460]

@@TheOnknk I wanna figure out too

[@vnever9078]

@@TheOnknk You guys figured it yet?

[@highviewbarbell]

​@@vnever9078no but I found thousands of ways how not to become one, which I think we can still publish

[@angrygary91298]

I wanna figured it out

[@JamesJoyce12]

the number one reason why people do not "do" mathematics is because they discover they are not smart enough-it is one thing to be the smartest dude [and yeah most of them are dudes] in your high school and then doing an undergrad [and being one of the smartest] and then postgrad [when you realize there are really... really smart dudes] in math.

[@McFlashh]

Mathematics is a skill that can be learned, the ones that excel are the ones who fell in love with the subject at a young age. I've always loved maths and got good grades in it, but I know I can become a much better mathematician because I don't work anywhere as hard as I can. The top mathematicians are studying 24/7, it's a lifestyle for them. If you dedicate as much of your time to it as they do, you can become a top mathematician too. And yes many find it harder than others, but I think it's because from a young age they didn't get taught the right way.

[@TheShortShelf]

​​@@McFlashh Thank you for the comment. You said it is a skill and most people that are good at it start at a young age. Is 20 considered young? I do have an interest in it but I don't work as well as I would like to and that is something I'm working on I'm currently in third year second semester of something I'm studying for the sake of going to college (Human physiology) and I would like to change to mathematics (like I don't mind at all when it comes to the time) but my funds is limited. However, my biggest fear is not being smart enough From my experience in college, I got to know that not everyone is the same and more hard work is needed for some of us to get by. Thing is this is mathematics, not like physiology that is more of memorization and that's why I'm scared I know you don't know me but would you reckon hard work can go (I'm more that willing) For history - In my secondary school, this is silly but I fluctuated. Some days I'm the best in class other days well not so much. I'm using free time I have to study Trig and calculus cause Trig was hell for me (Even in first year college) and I've never done any calculus. I didn't even know there was a calculus until decided to up my math knowledge just for the sake of it. I use free time to study math Would going into math be a bad idea?

[@DavidVonR]

I have a math BA and a great love for the subject, but the job market scared me off. Plus - it is very anti-social.

[@shrikantkumar6842]

Hey Amina

You’re pretty.

[@bridgecross]

Well this didn't explain anything.

[@james-ob9rz]

Not Math is racist 😉😉😉😉 5/4 are bad at Math

[@blubblubee]

graph theory.

[@4thesakeofitname]

Dear Amina, I upvote because you are beautiful...

[@Mad_mathematician224]

I love you❤

[@musashi4856]

Love of logic and people is an oxymoron.

[@FunnyChurros-je7db]

Or perhaps MATHEMATICS was too difficult for you "DOCTOR" AMINA AITSI-SELMI!.

[@leofeza9325]

Pretty smart

[@nunoalexandre6408]

Soooooooooooooooo Sweeety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@АлексейНикитин-п3о]

Если из А следует Б и Б приятно, то А верно. Лев Ландау о женской логике.

[@Paragon_1111]

And this is why there are so few women in stem, you’re to busy worrying about your feelings than just doing the actual work .

[@ag8454]

Oh shut up. Individuals are allowed to make their own decisions. I'm a female mathematician, GFY. Also, *you're too busy, not your. This is why there are so many dumb men, you worry too much about putting other people down.

[@PurpleNoir]

A casebook example of sexism folks right here. Attitudes like yours keep misogyny alive and thriving. Women aren’t a hive mind, we are not hysterical and so “emotionally fragile” that we can’t do math or science or other STEM related things. Do you know who wrote the first computer code? Ada Lovelace, a lady over 100 years ago.

[@Paragon_1111]

@@badanieMMP Isn't it remarkable that even amid a significant epidemic, men continue to lead? Men possess the ability to work regardless of their emotions. How a man feels doesn't impact his obligations to his work or family. In general, a man can feel lonely, heartbroken, downtrodden, and unnoticed by society, yet still continue to work and find joy in doing so. If men started prioritizing their feelings over their duties, the economy would halt. The world would stop. Infrastructure would cease. Men's issues cannot be resolved by simply discussing their feelings. While it may be therapeutic, it doesn't result in tangible change. Even Freud acknowledged that discussing feelings is a more feminine approach. Men prefer to solve problems directly. There shouldn’t be competition, because we’re different beings with different capabilities. It’s never going to be even, and no amount of social change is going to make it level.

[@echo.1209]

@@Paragon_1111Men do not "possess the ability to work regardless of feelings", they have simply been conditioned to by society. Men are not fundamentally better leaders or innovators or anything else and women are not fundamentally better at expressing emotions and feelings. Instead, it's people like you who reinforce the societal structures already in place that prevent equal representation in fields like STEM. I suggest you read up on more contempory social theory and not just stick to Freud.

[@williamtippins3651]

There are more female STEM graduates than men nowadays .....

[@sforsheriff]

So woman?

[@adocter5359]

L bozo

[@prateekhegde8560]

I clicked on the video just to comment "who cares?"

[@faithlesshound5621]

Clearly, you did.