Alec Wilkinson on his Quest to Learn Calculus At the Edge of Old Age

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By his own account, journalist and author Alec Wilkinson was a terrible math student -- and passed his high school math classes only by cheating. But at age 65, he decided he’d try again to learn the subject that had left him feeling abused and aggrieved. His joyful and humbling quest is the subject of his new memoir "A Divine Language.” We'll talk to him about what he learned and we'll hear from you: have you tried to master a subject later in life? Guests: Alec Wilkinson, author, "A Divine Language: Learning Algebra, Geometry, and Calculus at the Edge of Old Age" - He's also a contributing writer for the New Yorker; his previous books include "The Ice Balloon," "The Protest Singer" and "The Happiest Man in the World." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:08.7	From KQED.
1:27.2	From KQED in San Francisco, this is Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:28.3	Alec Wilkinson is an accomplished author and journalist, who was bad at math.
1:33.3	He says he passed his high school math classes only by cheating.
1:37.3	So then why at age 65 did Wilkinson decide to embark on a two-year quest to learn algebra, geometry, and calculus,
1:45.9	subjects he describes as brute, malign, and hostile to innocence and hope?
1:51.0	We talked to Wilkinson about trying to learn something later in life because you were bad at it,
1:56.1	the humility it requires, and the self-discovery it can bring.
2:00.4	Join us.
2:10.9	Welcome to Forum.
2:12.1	I'm Mina Kim.
2:13.7	At age 65, Alec Wilkinson decided he'd try to learn a subject that had left him feeling lost and stupid as a teenager.
2:21.6	Math. Specifically, algebra, geometry, and calculus. Wilkinson, a writer for the New Yorker whose previous books include The Ice Balloon and the Protest Singer, says high school math left him abused and aggrieved.
2:35.4	He writes about his hopes for learning math again with a half-century's wisdom in a new
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