Day 3

Got thrown off my schedule because my youngest brother just graduated from the University of Iowa. But I am back in the game now. Today I studied types of numbers such as real numbers, rational numbers, integers, and whole numbers. I also studied how to solve inequalities and how to add real numbers. No problems with the material. I understand it all. Starting from the bottom. The saga continues.

Day 2

Studyiing continues to go smooth. Today studied order of operations and classification of numbers such as whole numbers, integers, rational numbers and irrational numbers. Interesting stuff. The saga continues.

Day 1

First day was a success. Using an old textbook Prentice Hall Mathematics Algebra1, I began my quest to be a mathematician without formal training thirty minutes at a time. I'm starting from the very beginning so the first chapter is entitled Tools of Algebra. I got through all of section 1 Using Variables and most of section 2 Exponents and Order of Operations. I will begin on page 12 tomorrow. The saga continues.

Studying mathematics on my own

This blog is an experiment. I would like to study mathematics. I would like to study mathematics on my own and this blog will sort of serve as the diary of my successes and failures. Now I don't want to just study mathematics I want to be known as a mathematician without going to formal school for such a designation. I will consider this adventure a success if I can get a mathematics paper published in a respected mathematics journal, or get hired for a job that requires significant mathematics ability. Ultimately I want to test this new wave of educational opportunity that many bloggers like  James Altucher and other experimenters like David Mansaray have been raving about: simply the idea that anyone can learn anything they want without a formal institution if they put in the time and effort. Here is one more stipulation, I will study thirty minutes a day everyday to accomplish this goal. According to my calculations studying 30 minutes a day for 365 days will yield 10,950 minutes of study which will translate into 182.5 hours per year. Surprisingly, if I stick to this regimen I will hit the ten thousand hour mark in about 6 years. We will see how good I am at mathematics then. I will start with the traditional high school mathematics curriculum sequence: Algebra 1, Geometry, Alegebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. I will then move on to the undergraduate sequence. I will rely heavily on this mathematics guide I found sometime ago. I think mathematics is the perfect subject for this experiment because it requires very little if any outside equipment. Le the games begin.