For a Black Mathematician, What It’s Like to Be the ‘Only One’

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Im more proud of this brother waking up and getting far away from these crackas,then any mathmatics he was doing. He did the mathmatics that matters which is Cac+Black=nikka Squared. Which means a nikka in a box figuratively who can't be himself around europeans,or a dead black man in a casket because he has been killed,or has become suicidal due to the feeling of isolation and insecurity.

Black men are waking up and saying fukk european standards,we are just at the beginning though. The overwhelming majority of us are still in a current state of assimilation,knowingly or subconsciously.

...this makes no sense. He’s still on the outside.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

You have to have tough skin to be the only one. Most people who criticize never been in those situations. It can be an isolating experience at times because you are around people that have a different way of life. People who had opportunities you never had. Plus we have to work 3 times as hard to make it to the same place they walk into. At that stage in the game it’s never outright racism. It’s that never ending subtle shyt that you get hit with constantly. Being a black male in that situation is harder because you could flip out, but you just end up as another episode of when keeping it real goes wrong.

This is why 90% of the militants online really aren’t about that life. They haven’t accomplished shyt so they don’t know what it’s like being one of a few in rarified company

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Been there, done it twice (not at the PhD level, to his credit). Was the only black man in my graduating class doing my major, at a sizable PWI, twice. Gotta face facts bruh, any black man that is a leader in their field academically or professionally can't look around and see a lot of counterparts with their same skin tone. The difference between this guy and the young astrophysicist is in attitude. If you're doing something you love, something you worked damn hard to achieve, are you really going to let other people fukk it up for you?

Not everyone can handle it. Takes a special breed.

This is also why I don’t tolerate Obama slander.

A lot of his critics couldn’t do 30% of what he did.

 

[---]

Didn't read the article. But As a cat who was a senior high school math teacher yeah didn't see a lot of cats teaching math. Still, dont see a lot of cats in there even after I left. Either way I am doing something about it. Going to make some dent in that problem.

Math centres business coming soon.

 

[Dark Horse]

Yup. I'm at a top 20 school well regarded in math, taken 6 math courses (for math majors, rigorous and proof-heavy) and maybe ~10-15% of the classes were non-Asian.

Is advanced calculus/real analysis in your future, or are you doing the applied math route? That was easily the most difficult I've taken bar none. I've kept the book after almost ten years...and couldn't do that shyt now if you put a gun to my head.

 

[Nobu]

Is advanced calculus/real analysis in your future, or are you doing the applied math route? That was easily the most difficult I've taken bar none. I've kept the book after almost ten years...and couldn't do that shyt now if you put a gun to my head.

I'm a CS major. At my school, CS is more math and theory heavy than at other schools where CS is more like an applied programming certificate.

No real analysis for me, thankfully. Finished my math reqs, took Calc 1, Calc 2 (covered some DiffEq and a little Calc 3 stuff), Number Theory, Linear Algebra, Graph Theory, Probability, Statistics.

 

[god shamgod]

Not comparing my situation to this cat but I can relate cuz I was the only black dude in a class(business law II) a couple years ago

I hated that shyt it felt strange , there was like 4-5 black chicks in that class they use to be lookin at me like the rest of the class was whites,latinos,Asian and a some Samoan weirdo. It was sad cuz brothas have low enrollment

 

[Dark Horse]

Not everyone can handle it. Takes a special breed.

I think the bigger issue honestly is that people like him that may or may not have been in the industry working at some point in time, may not have ever developed the necessary interpersonal skills it takes nowadays to excel in a mixed business setting. And going to school is completely different than teaching.

I've always wanted to go back and do a PhD (NOT math tho) as a retirement job. You think I'd be giving a fukk what anyone says while I'm planning my next vacatio---i mean conference?

 

[Hawaiian Punch]

I feel for all the TRUE brothers and sisters who are the only ones in fields like this, because they constantly under criticism, racism, getting passed over because of perception

It’s all of that and more. We literally have to invent shyt just to be seen at the level of somebody who walked into their position. Even after doing that you have to face the perception of being a token, or just filling a quota or some shyt. You around people that don’t know your home slang, home food, music, way of life etc. It becomes an isolated existence, because even though you are cordial to those people you can never really invite them in your world. You almost end up becoming two people in a sense, your professional side and your home side.

Been there, done it twice (not at the PhD level, to his credit). Was the only black man in my graduating class doing my major, at a sizable PWI, twice. Gotta face facts bruh, any black man that is a leader in their field academically or professionally can't look around and see a lot of counterparts with their same skin tone. The difference between this guy and the young astrophysicist is in attitude. If you're doing something you love, something you worked damn hard to achieve, are you really going to let other people fukk it up for you?

The way I have dealt with it is realizing that I believe in what I do. I believe in my skillset and intelligence. I deserve this spot and nobody else is better qualified. End of story. Like Hov said: “Momma ain't raised no fool,
Put me anywhere on God's green earth, I'll triple my worth, Motherfukker - I, will, not, lose” Sometime that inner belief is what it takes.

 

[god shamgod]

I'm a CS major. At my school, CS is more math and theory heavy than at other schools where CS is more like an applied programming certificate.

No real analysis for me, thankfully. Finished my math reqs, took Calc 1, Calc 2 (covered some DiffEq and a little Calc 3 stuff), Number Theory, Linear Algebra, Graph Theory, Probability, Statistics.

I have a mental block with advanced math, it’s literally holding me back from finishing my degree

What’s the best way to learn/master the advanced math like the stuff in your post

 

[Nobu]

I have a mental block with advanced math, it’s literally holding me back from finishing my degree

What’s the best way to learn/master the advanced math like the stuff in your post

I was terrible coming in too. My classmates had already seen advanced math in high school whereas I hadn't.

Really what was holding me back more than that, is I didn't even know how to study math. My high school courses were easy enough to coast through without much raw practice, but that doesn't fly in college.

There's no easy way around it, you just gotta grind practice problems over and over again, preferably with access to solutions. And use available resources like prof/TA office hours. But again, grinding problems until they become easy is what got me through. Very painful at first, but trust your brain eventually starts to see the patterns and you will get better.

 

[Geode]

I was the only one in my program for undergrad and grad, granted both programs were small. Nevertheless, I had to constantly field questions from faculty and classmates of "How did YOU become interested in this field". I knew what they meant

 

[Crayola Coyote]

Dude sounds insecure, as if he doesn't have the self confidence to be the different face in the crowd.

Kudos to him for getting a PhD...but he had to know throughout his studies that there were very few people along the way that look like him.

Personally, I think the way math is taught and approached sorely needs to be revamped, from elementary through college curriculum.

THIS. Math isn’t taught as something you can enjoy to learn but something as a chore. That needs to change

 

[theworldismine13]

I have a mental block with advanced math, it’s literally holding me back from finishing my degree

What’s the best way to learn/master the advanced math like the stuff in your post

the best way is to pay somebody

Learn something new on Wyzant.com! and other places

this course is cool also Introduction to Mathematical Thinking | Coursera

 

[Crayola Coyote]

I was terrible coming in too. My classmates had already seen advanced math in high school whereas I hadn't.

Really what was holding me back more than that, is I didn't even know how to study math. My high school courses were easy enough to coast through without much raw practice, but that doesn't fly in college.

There's no easy way around it, you just gotta grind practice problems over and over again, preferably with access to solutions. And use available resources like prof/TA office hours. But again, grinding problems until they become easy is what got me through. Very painful at first, but trust your brain eventually starts to see the patterns and you will get better.

THIS. That is how you get good at math. Those practice problems. Told my cousin this he is excelling.