WEBVTT 00:00:02.120 --> 00:00:04.900 Hi, this week we've been exploring perspectives. 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:08.039 And today I'd like to share part of my math journey 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:12.220 that revealed fresh perspectives at every turn. 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:16.500 I first took calculus one and two as a senior 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:20.960 in high school with Mr. Helvick. It was a blast. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:26.059 The topic was completely new and I found it fascinating. 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:30.129 Then I took calculus again in college. because 00:00:30.129 --> 00:00:32.509 I was not convinced that I understood it well 00:00:32.509 --> 00:00:38.549 enough. My professor was Dr. Bruja. He was brilliant, 00:00:38.649 --> 00:00:43.250 and honestly, a little intimidating. And just 00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:46.310 when I thought I understood a topic, he would 00:00:46.310 --> 00:00:49.630 challenge me with a more difficult problem that 00:00:49.630 --> 00:00:53.590 forced me to see it differently. Then later, 00:00:53.729 --> 00:00:57.149 I tutored students in calculus, and I was excited 00:00:57.149 --> 00:01:00.070 to share what I'd learned with others. but explaining 00:01:00.070 --> 00:01:03.250 ideas to others revealed details and connections 00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:07.730 I had never noticed before. In many ways, I probably 00:01:07.730 --> 00:01:12.390 learned more than they did. Okay, after college, 00:01:12.489 --> 00:01:15.430 I began taking actuarial exams, and the first 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:18.629 exam covered the same calculus one and two topics. 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:22.049 And once again, I thought I knew the material. 00:01:22.469 --> 00:01:25.829 But when I looked at the sample problems, it 00:01:25.829 --> 00:01:30.000 felt like a foreign language. How could the same 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:35.480 subject suddenly become so much deeper? And even 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:38.219 over the years, I used calculus and actuarial 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:41.859 work, building financial models and working with 00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:45.040 more advanced mathematics. And each new application 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.299 revealed another perspective. And then more than 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:52.239 20 years after graduating, I began teaching calculus 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.140 concepts to actuarial students. And once again, 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:59.379 my perspective changed. Just like tutoring in 00:01:59.379 --> 00:02:02.859 college, teaching has opened my eyes to new ways 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:06.060 of understanding ideas I thought I already knew. 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:10.379 And even as I'm recording this, I look at my 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:13.580 bookshelf and see more than 20 calculus books 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:16.939 I've collected over the years. And most of the 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:20.419 problems from the textbook are still challenging. 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.419 Now, the point of this story is not that calculus 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:27.539 is difficult. It is, but that's not the point. 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:29.900 And it's certainly not that I've mastered it. 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:33.979 The point is that the same subject has continued 00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:38.080 to reveal new perspectives. And when I first 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:40.759 encountered calculus, I thought I was stepping 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:44.860 into a swimming pool. And over time, I discovered 00:02:44.860 --> 00:02:49.319 it was an ocean. And each time I returned to 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:51.819 it, I noticed something I had missed before. 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:56.259 A new connection or a new insight or maybe a 00:02:56.259 --> 00:03:00.539 new question. And the deeper I go, the more beauty 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:05.039 I find. It has been a bit like looking at a diamond. 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:09.360 Turn it slightly and the light reflects in an 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:13.180 entirely different way. Now all this reminds 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:16.479 me that the longer we stay with something, the 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:20.520 more there is to discover. So here's a question 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:25.280 for you. Is there a person or an idea or maybe 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.319 a passion in your life that deserves a deeper 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.800 look. Something that maybe you have only scratched 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:35.280 the surface of. Hope to see you tomorrow.