Question: What got you into loving maths?

James Harpur answered on 10 Mar 2017:

I was good at it which always helped. I also had a brilliant maths teacher in secondary school who grew my love for it. I can admit that I probably would’t have done maths in college if I didn’t have him in school so I owe him a lot now.

But for me,I loved the no messing, right or wrong aspect of it. If I was writing an essay for another subject, I am waiting for the opinion from a teacher to see if it’s good, who might have a different opinion from another teacher. There’s no real right answers to essays , just good answers. Maths is different. In maths, your opinion, my opinion or anybody’s opinion is irrelevant.

A person who’s respected in a different subject outside maths could potentially get away with making mistakes or being wrong because they have a wealth of experience behind them so this is the way it must be done, or they’re the ‘best in the business’ so people think they must be right. Maths could not care less if you’re a four year old child or if you’re the world’s leading expert in the mathematics with a PhD. If you can’t get it out, tough.