Few encounter mathematics with neutral attitudes.  For many, difficulty with the subject has come to color and cloud their entire educational experience in science. Their frustration with the field is not primarily because it is challenging or involves symbols (they expect this), but rather owing more to the fact that they aren’t able to relate to math in the same way that they organically relate to many other subjects. Beyond arithmetic, much of the discipline just seems disconnected and distant, almost as if it were located on a remote island separated from the other areas of knowledge they possess by a vast ocean.

This vexation and discouragement for them is real and visceral. And it has long historical legs.

So much has been written and discussed, over the last 200 years, about what needs to be done to improve ‘conventional math instruction’ at all levels, particularly algebra, and rightly so, but so comparatively little has been shared in writing with how dedicated teachers actually do this in detail and substance in the classroom.  

Mathematics is bold, unifying and about big ideas—beautiful even—yet retains a strong flair for the camouflaging of this beauty. To bring this scenery out of the shadows and into sharp relief for the layperson, requires serious and creative effort. Some mathematicians have aimed for this by bringing down—from the mountain tops—histories and sagas from some of the more advanced, less familiar areas of the subject. But remarkably, uncovering real mathematical beauty can also be accomplished by drilling down into areas of the subject far closer to home, and far more recognizable to all.

My name is G. Arnell Williams and one of my primary passions, as a college professor and author, has always been to help my students and readers come to the realization that beauty, utility and unity are not only visible from the high peaks of mathematics, but that they are already present in what are considered as the more basic and elementary areas of the subject.  I have found my efforts at achieving this broad and unified, big picture approach to be especially valuable to those who carry the scars from earlier, negative experiences with math.

In my writing, I always have forefront in my mind, readers who are looking to erase intellectual bruises from past encounters with the subject and truly gain insight, still others who may have found success in math but who are still looking to expand upon their conceptual understanding and also teachers who may be looking for additional ideas and approaches to use in the classroom.

This website contains information on the books and articles that I have written on mathematics and mathematics education, as well as a sizeable section on quotations from mathematicians, scientists, educators, historians and philosophers on the same; yielding an ‘easy spoil of wit and learning’. It also has a section on my photography celebrating the beauty in nature and the dramatic landscape, along with thoughts from the masters.

Thanks so much for visiting! G. Arnell Williams