Just the beginning
“I think mathematics in the school definitely should be revised in such a way that it gives more of a sense of discovery and excitement.”
If you’re wondering why there isn’t a lot more stuff here for you to look at, the answer is that this website is brand-new, and it’s still a work in progress. Next time you visit, you’ll probably find that things look pretty different (and there will definitely be many, many more pages written especially for Students.) So believe me, what you see here right now is just barely a down payment on the stuff you'll be seeing here soon.
But to get things started properly, let me stress just one major point: the math you see in school is pretty far removed from real math (by which I mean the stuff done by real, live mathematicians.) There are all sorts of reasons for this, and if you want a very clear explanation of all of them (and if you have a little while &mdash there are something like 26 pages to read here), you should definitely take a close look at Lockhart's Lament, which is an absolutely amazing piece of work. (It’s all absolutely true, too, which is even more amazing.) By the time you’re done with it, I’m pretty sure you’ll understand perfectly why the Stanford Math Circle exists. With the schools the way they are, we’re really, really needed here (in case you didn’t already know.)
Pretty soon I'll be adding pages and pages of interesting links, and book recommendations, and all that sort of thing, along with some very mysterious hints that ought to get you thinking along productive lines (and may even lead you right up to the frontiers of current research, if you’re not careful.) For now, though, I'll just close here with a quick pointer to
which, even though it hasn't been updated since 2002, remains one of the best places on the whole vast expanse of the Web for the mathematically-minded kid (and her parents, and her teachers.) So check it out. And see you back here again soon, OK?