> Mathematicians are chronically lost and confused. It's our natural state of being, and it's okay to keep going and take what insights you can.
This needs to be emphasized more in learning maths. Once I got over this fact and was guided by my interest rather than wanting to grok everything, I actually started understanding a lot more.
Someone should tell us that sooner then. I've been trying to get over math anxiety for a long time, and having professors that say "it's simple, what don't you understand?" when you try to get help didn't help much.
Two mathematicians are working on a problem and one makes a claim to which the other replies, "That's trivial!" The pair stare at the claim for ten minutes. The other says, "Is it trivial?" They go home, think about it all night, publish three papers about it over the next two years, and then they agree, "Yes, it's trivial."
This needs to be emphasized more in learning maths. Once I got over this fact and was guided by my interest rather than wanting to grok everything, I actually started understanding a lot more.