Algebra and Horsehead Nebulæ

As many of you are aware, for the last couple of years I have been trying to fill the gaps in my education, and there are tremendous gaps. I have talked about doing Advanced Highers (rough equivalent of Advanced High School diploma and AP college level courses) in subjects I barely scrapped by in the first time.

Sometimes I am left wondering why I am doing this and what the point is. I don’t exactly live a life with copious free time. My family doesn’t understand, although those I have spoken to about it are incredibly supportive as per usual. Sometimes I feel as if I am in the stage of life where I should be creating, not playing catch up in algebra.

Speaking of algebra, that is exactly where I am. At the beginning of the year I started calculus, followed by pre-calc once I realised there were some gaps. Now I am back at the foundations of algebra just testing myself – if I don’t understand a concept going deeper into it, building that solid foundation that I do not have that has been tripping me up. Simplifying square roots, evaluating exponents, multiplying fractions, the sorts of things that one cannot share with another adult without looking either crazy or dumb.

Telling the voice in my head that this is the only way to satisfy that other voice in my head that wants to know why the world is the way that it is: How do we know Venus is 155,991,043 kilometres from Earth and that the composition of the Horsehead Nebula is predominantly ionised hydrogen.*

If you want to become reasonably wealthy and afford a comfortable life, learn to code. If you want to receive that classical education you were deprived of, attend your piano lessons.

The piano exercises, 30 minutes twice a day, are going incredibly well on a junked-out old keyboard rescued from the skip. Life is better if you don’t make excuses.

Ciao!

As always Khan Academy is a great place to start for most STEM subjects and can be used to accompany many curriculums. Duolingo now offers music and basic maths in addition to a wide range of languages and supporting material. Neither sponsor me.

*If you would like an answer that leaves you with even more questions, we know the distance of Venus due to timing its transit across the sun, and hydrogen is red.