government was funding a group of mathematicians and theoretical physicists to connect ideas from string theory to a deep problem in mathematics called the Langlands Program. I never even took a physics course.Īt the same time that I became interested in string theory, the U.S. I graduated four years later with a degree in mathematics. But thanks to a superb calculus teacher, I caught the math bug instead. Within two years of reading The Elegant Universe, I'd left the world of music and entered university ready to study physics.
I forgot all about Bryson and walked out of Barnes & Noble that day with a new hunger to understand something called "string theory."Īs it turns out, physics is a pretty effective gateway drug to the world of mathematics. I probably read a hundred pages of Greene's book in the store. I saw the Bill Bryson book on the shelf, but something else caught my eye: The Elegant Universe * by Brian Greene. I went to Barnes & Noble and headed straight for the physics section. My roommate - a boisterous Londoner and the band's drummer - had read Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything * and encouraged me to read it. I'd grown my hair out and was playing keyboards in a rock band. It was 2005, and I was living in Los Angeles. Had anyone told me I'd eventually major in mathematics - even pursue a doctorate in it! - I'd have laughed in their face.
It didn't for me, either, until I was in my early twenties.Īs a high school student, I felt relieved when I completed the required math credits and could skip calculus my senior year. I understand entirely if "love" isn't something that math evokes in you. Refer to my affiliate disclosure for more information.
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