Dispatches from the wilderness of mathematics

What if mathematics could grow wild again? This essay explores what it means to return mathematics to its natural state: curious, untamed, and joyfully alive. And what that restoration could offer to every learner, whether mathematics is something you have only ever endured, survived, or avoided, or something you conquered and never thought to question.

Thinking needs the right conditions. Like soil, the mind needs space, quiet, and time. This essay prepares that ground—it invites us to pause, notice, and let clarity appear. In that fertile ground, living questions begin to grow.

This year, JoyMath is working in two closely linked directions. One is philosophical: remembering that math has wild roots, and exploring what happens when a living practice is absorbed into centralized learning systems that tame it by design. Two is practical: building small, human-scaled learning lifeboats. These allow learning to continue when those centralized systems strain, fall, or have simply locked you out.

Equity isn't about adding more effort- it's about redesigning systems. When fairness depends on rescue or heroics, trust breaks down. This essay explores what happens when equity is treated as structure, not a moral demand.

You Are the Algorithm explores how everyday habits and interactions quietly train the systems shaping our lives. Through behavior loops, AI swarms, and Jiu Jitsu, it argues that agency isn't lost, it's hidden, and can be reclaimed by noticing our patterns and bringing intention, context, and care into how we engage with technology.

I write about math for everyone because a society that misunderstands math gives up a crucial kind of collective agency. By expanding the public’s sense of math, I hope more people feel empowered to think clearly, challenge what isn’t working, and help democracy thrive.

What if algebra itself is an art of repair? Mending what's broken by naming relationships, identifying what's missing, and bringing things back into right relationship. From the etymology of al-jabr (bone-setting) to kintsugi (golden repair), algebra reveals itself as restoration work, not just in equations, but in ecosystems, relationships, and the broken places we all carry.

Fold the five perfectly symmetrical Platonic solids while exploring their history, mathematical uniqueness, and place in nature, art, and the cosmos. This hands-on adventure connects ancient form to your fingertips, and to the mystery of everything.

A reflection on the power of boredom, curiosity, and the courage to ask "why not" through the story of Katherine Johnson, whose questions and persistence helped launch humanity to the moon.

A call to let go of answer-chasing and rediscover math as a deeply human pursuit, rooted in curiosity, wonder, and the courage to keep asking. What if math didn't start with answers, but with longing?

Wind, wonder, and clever moves for curious minds of all ages. Created by Ben Orlin.

This Week's 'Notes from the Field' shares a piece of my story. From feeling left behind in math to building JoyMath as a place where everyone belongs. Step through the door with me.

Children inherit our relationship with mathematics. When we claim it with courage, they inherit a living, joyful part of life, not something to fear or avoid. What a gift and legacy to leave them. Start by claiming it for yourself and watch what becomes possible for them.