Honors Linear Algebra Can Be Fun, Cool, Even Beautiful

Today I Learned

The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives—and we think that’s worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.

For those who think that math is a chore, we present to you David Gardner. In the fifth episode of our BU Today podcast,Today I Learned, Gardner (CDS’26) gets candid about his favorite BU class, MA 442: Honors Level Linear Algebra. If you don’t have a basic understanding of the concept, this might not be the class for you because, as the name suggests, it’s not for the uninitiated. Gardner agrees that every day is a challenge and he’ll often go to Professor David Rohrlich for assistance with difficult proofs, but that the hard work always pays off: “It’s fun,” he says, “it’s a game.” For him, solving each problem is like cracking a code, or completing a puzzle—there’s something purely enjoyable about the experience of finding a solution. What’s more, Rohrlich’s teaching style is attuned toward deductive reasoning and linear thinking, which Gardner says has allowed him to examine nonmathematical dilemmas in history and politics with a new mindset. Be it engineering, technology or, in Gardner’s case, just for fun, this episode will make you see linear algebra like you’ve never seen it before.

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