Math as Emotion: Rediscovering Meaning Through Memory
By SciFoundry • April 02, 2025
Some stories about mathematics are written in chalk and ink. Others live in memory. When I set out to write about the emotional side of math—the part that stays with us long after we've left the classroom—I knew I needed more than equations and theories. I needed a voice that had lived it.
That voice belongs to Pushpinder Kaur, a former BTech student turned web developer. Her journey with mathematics mirrors what many of us go through—early uncertainty, a turning point, and ultimately, a lasting sense of connection. She may not use differential equations in her day job, but the impact of math on her thinking and identity remains unmistakable.
When One Test Changes Everything
Her journey started like many others: not with fascination, but frustration. Until grade 7, math felt distant—something other people were good at. That changed the day she got full marks on a test. It wasn't the score itself, but the shift in self-perception. What once seemed inaccessible now felt within reach. The experience ignited a deeper commitment to learning. She began reworking problems repeatedly, driven not by pressure but by genuine curiosity.
It was a turning point, and it mirrored something we often see in math education: confidence is a catalyst. The moment a student sees themselves as capable, everything else starts to follow.
The Teachers Who Teach More Than Math
She credits her university professor, Dr. Honey Sharma, with turning that spark into something more durable. His energy in class wasn’t just about delivering content—it was about making students feel seen. If a majority of the class underperformed on a test, he wouldn’t scold. He’d revisit the material, break it down again, and offer a fresh way to approach it.
Sometimes he began lectures with games or simple activities—tactics that re-engaged attention and opened up abstract topics in playful ways. His approach underscores a powerful truth: good math teaching is rarely about the content alone. It's about the environment it creates.
Trigonometry and the Visual Brain
Trigonometry stood out to her not because it was easy, but because it felt natural. Where others hesitated, she could see the solution steps unfold in her mind—almost like navigating a mental diagram. That ability to visualize isn't just a cognitive advantage; it’s an emotional one. It builds trust between the learner and the subject. You feel like math is speaking to you in a language you finally understand.
And once that bridge is built, everything becomes a bit more beautiful—even fun.
College Courses and the Quiet Fade
She studied the classics: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Vector Calculus, Differential Equations, Probability, and Statistics. A complete technical foundation. Today, as a web developer, she rarely uses those tools directly. But the muscle memory is there. More importantly, the affection remains.
“To me, math is not just a subject—it’s an emotion,” she told me. And when someone says that without irony, you know it runs deep.
If Math Were a Friend
I asked her to describe math as a personality. Her answer: interesting, brilliant, and just a bit mysterious. The kind of person you could know for years and still feel like you're just scratching the surface. It was a poetic metaphor—but also an accurate one. Because no matter how much we learn, math always has another layer waiting to be uncovered.
Advice for the Math-Anxious
Her advice for struggling students was simple but sharp: math gets hard when the words lose meaning. Every term in a textbook has weight, and when we gloss over them, we set ourselves up for confusion. Mastering definitions and notation isn’t tedious—it’s survival. It’s the only way math becomes intuitive rather than intimidating.
She also pushed back against the idea that math is just arithmetic. That’s only the beginning. Real mathematical thought begins with abstraction—when numbers give way to variables, structures, and patterns. When the symbols stop representing quantities and start representing ideas.
And that’s where the real joy is.