The beauty of mathematics

High school in China is difficult. The Chinese high school exam is seen as one of the most difficult in the world. Chinese high school students thus face tremendous amounts of pressure when the college entry exam called the gaokao 高考 come around.

“I never was good at mathematics. It was my lowest grade actually, but now that I am older I feel more interested in the topic. It is not obligatory anymore, and perhaps that adds to my enjoyment of reading this book now. Every now and then, I pick it up and just read a few pages.”

As you may expect, the owner of this book did not do well at the mathematics subject when he did his gaokao. In fact, it was one of the lowest scores he obtained. Though there was little interest in mathematics before, the spare time and opportunities in the Netherlands resulted in a new hobby.

Chinese students studying for a PhD in the Netherlands have generally passed this college entry exam with flying colors. They managed to get into a university and continue their studies abroad at a West European university. However, completing high school in China is often paired with not much free time.

When the owner of this book came to the Netherlands, the amount of free time was one of the main differences with China. Doing a PhD in China also entails not having much free time, but in the Netherlands there is enough time to enjoy yourself on the weekends. That is why he brought this book from China to the Netherlands after visiting family once. Even though he still does not really understand a lot of the theory, he is really willing to learn more about it.

“Now it is nice to be able to read something interesting. Being able to read your own language is also nice.”

This object thus tells us more about the owner; it is not just a book. This book by George Gamow explores mathematics and science explained in an understandable way. For him this Chinese-language copy of the book symbolizes the time he found in the Netherlands to explore other hobbies besides studying for a PhD, and symbolizes his will to continue learning.

As a famous Chinese saying says: huo dao lao, xue dao lao - keep on learning as long as you live.