The naïve person thinks that being good at teaching means you know the material. While this is technically true, I think it hides the fact that knowledge of the material isn’t sufficient to be a good teacher. For the most part, having a good command of the material helps a lot in getting the information to the students. However, I think we too often make the mistake that knowing the material is good enough. It isn’t.

In my side projects, I’ve struggled with two different kinds of fears. I’m sure you’ve felt these too. The funny part is that these are essentially opposite fears.

I’ve enjoyed science and mathematics for a long time. I love the feeling of understanding a concept through its fundamental constituents. It feels like you’re getting at something deep, unavailable to those who just look over the topic with a cursory glance. In a sense, learning about science and mathematics has helped me learn how to think.

I love proofs in mathematics. Getting to the heart of why something is true is a ton of fun. It’s even better when there is a nice and simple proof of a fact that is surprising. These are the proofs that I love the most, because they solve a mystery in a way that is easy to follow and makes sense the whole way.