Studying Mathematics at 40

Earlier this year I decided that I was going back to university to study Mathematics at the Open University, something that I didn’t ponder much at the time, but was confident it was the right decision.

Most of my adult life I’d kept repeating the same “When I get retired, I’m going to study mathematics” sentence to close friends and family. And I’d really meant it, but it’d gradually become sort of a mantra that I hadn’t put much thought to. Until this year, when I turned 40 and asked myself some deep questions about life, the universe, and everything. Some people would call it midlife crisis, and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with them. However, I believe that studying mathematics is something I wanted to do for years now and can’t find a good reason to defer it until my twilight years.

I’ve always loved mathematics. When I was a schoolboy, maths was one of the few subjects that I happily studied without feeling for it to be a chore. I enjoyed all aspects of it, from the purely methodical calculations to the more abstract and logical problems. Solving maths problems and puzzles was a hobby to me.

Later in life, I pursued my passion for computers and followed the career path of a Software Engineer/Programmer. I didn’t think of mathematics as a real carrer opportunity for me. I (wrongly) associated it solely with education, which I wasn’t particularly interested in.

In recent years, my interest in mathematics has been refreshed: I’ve read some books about maths, read plenty of articles on Quanta Magazine and other science publications, watched tons of videos on YouTube, and even tried to unsuccesfully understand what Terry Tao writes about. None of these things has made me stronger at maths as I’ve been passively consuming it as opposed to actively doing it. Nonetheless, my desire to learn more advanced topics has grown greatly.

I don’t have clear goals or expectations about my studies beyond learning and getting better at maths. I’d love to explore what modern mathematics looks like and see what my appetite for more is at the end of it. On a concrete note though, I’d like to become competent at reading and writing proofs so I can delve into some areas of maths on my own. I’m also keen on expanding my knowledge of subjects like topology, abstract algebra and analysis, among others.

It’s been more than 20 years since I first went to university, but I don’t feel less capable now than when I was 18. I’m constantly learning new things either because my job requires it or because of my curiosity nature. I’m also more productive with my scarce free time now, probably a consequence of having two children. I’m excited and ready about this new adventure I’m embarking on.