Ask HN: I suck at math, where to start?

I was a ‘math prodigy’ in school. To me mathematics was always about solving problems, learning any theory/apparatus makes much more sense when you understand what problems it helps you solve. As a programmer you probably have a problem-solution mindset too. If you just have fun solving problems and slowly build your mathematical foundation from there, you’ll probably discover that you don’t suck at all, just the way you were taught mathematics at school was too dogmatic.

And just like lifting weights, you will lose it when you stop doing it.

I remember doing the CFA program which is math and formula heavy. I had hundreds of formulas memorized. I couldn’t tell you the formula to calculate the standard deviation of a portfolio of three assets now if my life depended on it.

What I vividly recall is my fascination with algebra and geometry as a child. While on hikes I would imagine the equations necessary to approximate the flora around me, to calculate the parts of the rays of light, and so forth.

And while I never applied myself strongly to homework, I did pay with math as I've would pay an instrument.

That is to say, this should sound like how musicians describe hearing the music of nature, and their fascination with sounds and musical theory.

Math is an instrument that one can play to make beautiful music.

I went through precalc in school, then promptly forgot most of it once I started working. All of the bits I had learned felt rushed, so a lot of them fell out of my brain even while in school. I only had a basic understanding of most of what I "learned".

About a year ago I decided to go back to basics, and start over from zero on Khan Academy. I've been v.e.r.y slow, maybe a lesson a month on average, but have been grinding through the lowest level math to really understand and remember it. Down to addition, subtraction and multiplication even - I've relearned how to multiply small numbers in my head, and gotten much better at quick mental addition and subtraction.

I have scheduled and dedicated more time for it this year, so I hope to catch up to my original math basis. This time, hopefully, remembering all of it instead of skimming. That should set me up well for linear algebra, and then calculus next year and beyond.

One thing that may help regardless of how you choose to learn: pick a problem you want to tackle that needs Fancy Maths. It doesn't need to be anything useful, or anything difficult like "prove this unproven theorem". It will motivate you as long as it keeps your brain engaged. For me it's factoring and primality proving, where I can't even read the equations / algorithms because I don't have the basic tools. As I get further along I keep looking back to those problems and seeing how the bits I'm learning apply around the edges or to simpler factoring algorithms. It keeps me motivated to learn more to be able to dive deeper into the juicy parts.