I was once the girl who couldn’t memorize multiplication tables (and to this day numbers do not stick in my head). I was once the girl who fell so far behind in 5th grade math that her teacher asked her to sit in the hallway filling out worksheets while she taught the other kids the math unit in the classroom. I was once the girl who failed math in middle school. I was once the girl who passed high school math by the skin of my teeth — understanding very little of the subject matter. Early on, I concluded that I was good at reading but bad at math.
A few years ago I saw this wonderful movie….
It’s based on a true story and one of the women, Katherine Johnson, is introduced when she’s a young girl. A young girl math genius. Genius is fascinating, isn’t it? Katherine went on to become a NASA mathematician and her work helped to ensure the success of the earliest spaceflights carrying astronauts.
After watching Hidden Figures, I thought, “What if I was to write about a math genius heroine?” The idea appealed to me more and more as time went by. And so, in my upcoming book, Let It Be Me, I followed through on that inspiration. Leah’s a former child math prodigy who graduated college at eighteen and, when it became imperative that she take custody of her young brother, became a teacher.
I began my research for Leah by reading Katherine Johnson’s book.
Then I combed YouTube for videos on female mathematicians. I found a few news stories. But then I found a gold mine of lectures given by mathematician Eugenia Cheng.
I was fascinated! She speaks to people who wouldn’t consider themselves mathematicians about math in a way I could understand. I watched video after video and took pages of notes.
A few of the things I learned from Eugenia….
~Math isn’t all about numbers. It’s about how to think. And thinking well has a good impact on the world.
~Math is the logical study of how logical things work.
~Math provides a way of looking at what things have in common. Math is about inter-connectedness. Math finds what is common and removes the other details.
~Understanding differences in logic can help us empathize. But we often let emotion drive out logic.
~Most people aren’t math phobic, they’re phobic of the way math is taught in school. Math can be creative and expressive and wonderful. There are people who failed school math and became extraordinary mathematicians.
~Female mathematicians are in the minority. In her college math classes, about one in ten students were female. In Eugenia’s PhD program, there were even fewer. She grew accustomed to being different from everyone in the room and figured she might as well make use of her difference and become memorable.
It was so empowering to listen to and learn from her! I realized I’m not “bad at math” and never was. I’m simply phobic of the way math was taught to me in school! 🙂
The opportunity to live vicariously through characters is one of the joys of writing. I rode Thoroughbred racehorses (in my imagination) when writing A Love Like Ours. And became a female body guard in Her One and Only. I’ve been a wealthy heiress, a model, a chocolatier, a famous Bible study teacher, and more.
Writing Leah’s book gave me a chance to think like a mathematician does… logically. And it turned out that, after my rocky introduction to math, it was incredibly satisfying to tap into my inner math genius while writing Let It Be Me.
Have you, like me, ever believed yourself “bad at math”? Which occupations have you enjoyed experiencing through the pages of a novel?
Becky Wade
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I agree, math is more than numbers! I remember asking my highschool math teacher how in the world am I going to take ‘this’ and make a meal out of it. To me, there was so much in math that had nothing to do with practical life. Well, at least not with the plans I had for my life then.
I have been homeschooling for 10 years now and have taught math from the ground up. And my kids have asked me the same question, Will I ever need this in life?
I say, you probably will not — I never did.
But.
But these exercises in algebra and geometry are teaching you to solve problems: recognize what has been given to you, what is missing, what are you looking for, what is the way to find the answer. Sometimes we know the formula, and the solution is easy, sometimes we need to ask for help to find the right answer. When the final number is wrong, we need to walk backwards to the place we messed up and redo the problem.
And thank God it is just math where you can fix everything on paper. In life, we cannot always.
So in my world, math, just like puzzles and sudoku, is a fun challenge. ❤️
Love your explanation. Great life lesson.
Kati,
That’s a FANTASTIC way to articulate the value of math and how it applies to life. Thanks for that!
As a language teacher (Spanish), I’ve always found it fascinating that abilities in math often show a person’s ability to learn a second language. People with good math skills tend to recognize relationships between different things. My oldest was blessed with mathematical ability. He had a really awful teacher in middle school. He told me once, “I don’t listen to her explanations. They are just confusing. I just read the book and start my homework.” 😮 I’ve tried to remind him often that it is a gift from God that his mind works that way.
As for occupations I like to read about – I enjoy a great female detective!
How interesting that math and foreign language skills often go hand in hand. That would make sense in my case — because those were the two subjects I struggled with most.
And I love a lady detective character! I’d be delighted to write one. Have you read Regina Jenning’s most recent book? And did you watch Miss Scarlet and the Duke?
We did watch Miss Scarlet. It is excellent!!
I’ll have to check out Regina’s book. 😊
I love this Becky and the perspective you bring to how you develop your characters and all the research you do! As readers we can became the heroines for a little bit but how much more must you experience those feelings as a writer …WOW!
One thing I’ve learned about Math as I home school my kids that I never understood is to treat Math like a foreign language. It has it’s own vocabulary and having the kids learn that is huge hurtle to help them overall.
And I’ve been wanting a Hidden Figures movie night with the family so maybe we can do that this weekend!
The concept of “learning the vocabulary of math” makes so much sense!When teachers tried to teach me math I really did feel that I was listening to a foreign language. 😂
I considered myself good at math right up until I took geometry, which I passed by the skin of my teeth. Algebra was a subject I looked forward to while in school though. I took each level that was offered. “We often let emotion drive out logic.” Give me logic over emotion any day of the week! haha! One of my favorite occupations I’ve experienced through the pages of a novel has been lepidopterology. I’ve loved butterflies for a very long time so the bits I get to learn while reading have been a great deal of fun! Even better that it’s a series!
That’s one thing I have in common with you, I don’t like geometry. It’s boring. But apart from that, I LOOOOOOOOVE MATH!!!!!!!! And I am a special lover of questions where finding the solution is not so straightforward.
As for occupations I’ve enjoyed reading, basically most of the occupations are interesting, but it is more fascinating to read about those it is hard to imagine being or those that people beside you are not likely to be. Like spies or secret agents etc.
“… it is more fascinating to read about those it is hard to imagine being or those that people beside you are not likely to be. Like spies or secret agents etc.” You raise a good point! There’s something extra special about usual careers few people attain in real life.
The study of butterflies! That’s a great career to delve into via a novel. 🦋
I, too, barely passed high school math. That D- was a hard fight for me. I can successfully balance my checkbook, so I consider that a win in my adult math life. 🙂
As far as occupations I’ve enjoyed experiencing…..Ronie Kendig’s Operation Zulu about the first all-female special ops team was a fascinating and I keep begging her for a sequel.
Oh yes about Operation Zulu!!! I would love a sequel as well!
An all female Special Ops team! Love that. 💕
My degree is Philosophy, with an emphasis in logic and analysis. Throw a number in and I’m toast. But all the logical manipulation and I’m good to go. I really liked being a famous Bible study teacher and an Olympic skier and running an Alaskan adventure company. Also being a female doctor in the Victorian era.
It’s always a much fun to read books about female doctors in historical novels!
Wonderful post. I really loved that movie also. Yes I thought I was “bad” at math big time. But I quilt. And algebra and lower math is used. I do it unthnkingly. One day my husband, who is a computer geek and a mathematician, said to me “Do you realized you are using algebra and such on your quilting?” What? No way. Then I started concentrating on my “math” and I goofed up big time. Arrrggghhh. So I took a short break and when I went back to quilting I was good.
Good for using math intuitively with your quilting!
I enjoy math, up to a point. I started losing it in trig. But all the previous topics I enjoyed. I love reading about characters who create cozy bakeries and inns (or bookstores), some of my favorite places.
Yes! Because then you can spend time in the pages of a novel in the character’s bakery/inn/bookstore. And it’s like a mini-vacation. 🙂
Your post hits home with me, Becky. I too struggled with math throughout school. My parents and I praying me through many tests and assignments.
I became an educator to create a relaxed, fun, space for learning.
Hidden Figures is one of my favorite movies as well. I need to read the Katherine Johnson book you featured and can’t wait to read Let It Be Me. Have a beautiful weekend.
Fun and relaxed spaces make a great environment for learning!
This makes me want to read this novel even more! Love hearing your math background and research. I’m one of the rare ones that loves math. Look forward to reading this novel!
Thanks so much, Staci!
My environmental scientist daughter once put it to me this way: “Physics is just algebra in motion.” Huh? Not only do I not have a math brain, I have severe math anxiety, and yes, I believe a large part of it is because I never found it engaging in school. After so many years, I have yet to determine how many pounds of chicken at this price and how many pounds of chicken at that price I might need to feed x many people at x many pounds per person. Have you? I barely passed logic in college, but yet I’m able to put together the puzzle pieces of a story. Go figure. Regardless, I thank you for mentioning those lectures by Eugenia Cheng. I have a secondary character majoring in mathematics at Vanderbilt in the 1940s, and a resource like this may help me get into her head!
I wouldn’t ace that chicken math problem. And yet no one around here is going hungry. So I guess it’s all good! 😉
I told you that you were not bad at math-your time management alone is proof of that! I’m glad you have learned from those wonderful lectures and I look forward to Leah’s story!One of the things I always said in my math presentations was how often people say they are not good at math which children pick up, but they would be embarrassed to say they were not good at reading.
Your happy Aunt!
Yes! In her lectures, Eugenia talks about how often people proclaim, “I’m bad at math.” Her thoughts on that subject inspired Leah’s thoughts on it in Let It Be Me. 🙂
Definitely found math hard in school. Later while taking managerial courses, I liked the strategy of accounting and that there were no grey areas. There is only one final answer and there is comfort in that somehow! I love how you didn’t shy away righting on a subject you found hard! That is the fun of creative writing isn’t it?
I also struggled with math in school and needed tutors at one time or another. In my senior year of high school I took statistics & probability instead of pre-cal because of my Algebra II grade the previous year. I did well in that class!
I’ve seen bits and pieces of “Hidden Figures.” It’s good! For those who haven’t, I recommend reading “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly before watching the movie for background. (I checked out the book from the library) I will reveal this much: the women computers started working at Langley some years before the events in the movie.