A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)

Barbara Oakley, PhD

Jul 2014 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The companion book to COURSERA®'s wildly popular massive open online course "Learning How to Learn"

Whether you are a student struggling to fulfill a math or science requirement, or you are embarking on a career change that requires a new skill set, A Mind for Numbers offers the tools you need to get a better grasp of that intimidating material. Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. She flunked her way through high school math and science courses, before enlisting in the army immediately after graduation. When she saw how her lack of mathematical and technical savvy severely limited her options—both to rise in the military and to explore other careers—she returned to school with a newfound determination to re-tool her brain to master the very subjects that had given her so much trouble throughout her entire life.
 
In A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Oakley lets us in on the secrets to learning effectively—secrets that even dedicated and successful students wish they’d known earlier. Contrary to popular belief, math requires creative, as well as analytical, thinking. Most people think that there’s only one way to do a problem, when in actuality, there are often a number of different solutions—you just need the creativity to see them. For example, there are more than three hundred different known proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. In short, studying a problem in a laser-focused way until you reach a solution is not an effective way to learn. Rather, it involves taking the time to step away from a problem and allow the more relaxed and creative part of the brain to take over. The learning strategies in this book apply not only to math and science, but to any subject in which we struggle. We all have what it takes to excel in areas that don't seem to come naturally to us at first, and learning them does not have to be as painful as we might think.

Ratings and reviews

This book and its strategies may have come in handy during my freshman year on high school, when I first realized I struggled with certain mathematical concepts. As an adult learner, it just feels outdated and irrelevant to my current education, even though the book claims it's for those who are experienced learners. On top of that I have to say that the metaphors and similies she uses are geared towards a more in youthful crowd; even the language is childish. I would only purchase this book to give to a young nephew or niece embarking on their high school or college journey.

I've always been interested in all things scientific but shied away from pursuing it as a career due to never being able to grasp the concepts in long lecture sessions. Now armed with the tools from this book and the excellent course on coursera I more motivated than ever to take the steps necessary to purse classes needed to prepare me for a career in the sciences and engineering. From a future MD, Prof Eng and PhD in the making

The author claims the book is aimed both at people starting with math and science and at people who already have some experience in the area and want to further improve. I dare to say I belong to the second group. Given this context, the book wasn't that great and I had to stop reading after first few chapters. Although I agree metaphors and analogies are great when teaching/learning a concept, I think they are overused in the book, which heavily reduces information density to the point of disinterest. Author's writing style is overall a bit "childish" for my taste. That said, I would probably see the book differently I were a college freshman or a high-school senior.

About the author

Barbara Oakley is a professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She has received many awards for her teaching, including the coveted National Science Foundation New Century Scholar Award.