Math is great! discussion

My name is Richard Hoshino and I teach math at Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.

I have only been on GoodReads for a few months, which I joined shortly after I published a "math novel" of my own. I don't know if this is the correct way to share this information, but I thought that my recently-published novel might be of interest to the members of the Math is Great group.

The Math Olympian is the story of an insecure small-town teenager who commits herself to pursuing the crazy and unrealistic goal of representing her country at the International Mathematical Olympiad, and thanks to the support of innovative mentors, combined with her own relentless perseverance, discovers meaning, purpose, and joy.

My hope is that this story will encourage young people to participate in math contests and camps, take math courses in college or university, and apply math in their future careers to tackle the complex challenges of the twenty-first century.

Mathematics has changed my life - it has brought me opportunities and privileges beyond my wildest dreams, and through my journey of studying this subject, I have found a deep clarity of purpose, discovering the arena in which I can serve society and live life to the full. It is this journey that I hope to share in my novel, with the hope of inspiring tens of thousands of young people with the message that with inspired teaching and mentorship, anyone can succeed in mathematics and develop the confidence, creativity, and critical-thinking skills so essential in life.

Richard Hoshino
Author of "The Math Olympian"
richard.hoshino@gmail.com

Sounds interesting, I like the fact that the protagonist is a female lead.

The only major thing I have misgivings about is the math competition aspect. I understand your hopes, but I think a lot of students grow up already feeling math is a competition starting in grade school. People start sifting themselves out of mathematics because they can't calculate basic arithmetic as fast as the top kids. So, I feel like that aspect will become, yet another, unattainable mathematical concept for them. Most students don't realize that you don't have to be very good at arithmetic to be good at math. I'm terrible at calculating in my head, knowing how arithmetic operations work is more important than knowing the precise number when calculating(when studying math, engineering is a different story).