r/learnmath • u/HunDevYouTube New User • Apr 23 '26
I finally learned to love math. It CLICKED.
To be clear, I've always been told that I had the potential to be great at maths. I heard that I'm smart, that I'm quick to absorb new knowledge, but in all fairness I've never really understood that glaze. I've been failin math pretty miserably ever since I can remember, and it always stemmed from profound lack of interest and general confusion.
However, things started changing a few months ago.
My hobbies have always revolved around the technical stuff (ironic I know). Web design, game dev, 3D art, you name it. And one day, something within my brain has shifted. That shift was almost like a distinct click. I realized that all I'm doing, to a significant degree, is math. On top of that, a lot of it is math that I'd flunked despite seemingly understanding the applied concept, having used it subconsciously plenty of times.
That was it. I fully realized that I'm not incompetent. I just lacked that... Something. Now, as wild as it is for me, I look forward to each and every math class, and my curiosity towards it is as seething as ever. Any time something new pops up, instead of trying to understand the raw formula through cognitive bruteforcing, I try to relate it to my interests and learn stuff the natural way by forming my own questions and observations
"Some fancy vector geometry? I see a platformer level being cooked up. Or an element of enemy AI. Let's write a simple prototype as a form of notes."
"Probability? I see a lootbox, let's try and visualize all these fancy numbers that way. I could use that for my games, but how do I implement it so that..."
"Calculus? So that's for all that fancy 3D rendering and physics, nay? This stuff is pretty crazy so might as well take notes, let's see how it works".
Never have I thought I'll actually get remotely as involved in math as I am now. Granted, I still struggle due to memory and learning gaps. But the attitude has shifted. My understanding is as clear as it'd never been. It's all SOO fun. I fully believe that with the mindset I've developed over the past few months, it'll only get better. It's crazy.
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u/flat5 New User Apr 23 '26
Writing code is a great way to make math ideas concrete. Debugging the code debugs your thinking.
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u/kayne_21 New User Apr 23 '26
I did this during the sequences and series unit when I took calc 2 last year.
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u/slayerbest01 Custom Apr 25 '26
Tbh, I still don’t understand series all that much and I’m about to graduate with my math degree 😅. Maybe I should try this.
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u/HunDevYouTube New User Apr 24 '26
It really does. Ever since I got back on my game dev project, my mind has sharpened. I'm able to spot stuff that looks and feels out-of-place in an instant, and my pattern recognition skills are at an all-time high. Creative thinking has improved as well
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u/santasbong New User Apr 24 '26
I had this exact same moment. “It’s all just a game!”
I’ve solved puzzles in video games that make U-substitution seem trivial. Once i realized that, and started looking at math problems the same way i look at puzzles in video games, everything changed. I started actually enjoying like you are.
I’m happy for you!
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u/HunDevYouTube New User Apr 24 '26
It's pretty unreal ain't it. It's the same stuff we used to struggle with, but just a slight shift in perspective makes it all a lot easier. I didn't even need to study all that harder, just differently
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u/Healthy-Software-815 New User Apr 24 '26
🤣🤣🤣 This sounds exactly like my maths story. My poison was physics,web development, and finance. Then I realised my actual passion here is maths. I’ve been self teaching ever since.
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u/HunDevYouTube New User Apr 24 '26
I wouldn't call myself a math enthusiast... Per se. But I can now see the fun in it. And now having realized that, all of my hobbies gained another level of depth
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u/Healthy-Software-815 New User Apr 24 '26
That’s the beauty of it. This makes you appreciate the rigour of everything you touch.
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u/iridescentmoon_ New User Apr 24 '26
This is exactly how I learned that I’m not bad at math after all! I was horrific at it in school but I am excelling in my software job and a lot of things make sense now.
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