Is it too late to learn math again at the age of 24

Fermat's Last Theorem

I accidentally turned to a book about Fermat's Last Theorem, a mystery that has plagued the wise men of the world for 358 years. Countless mathematicians have dedicated their lives to this problem one after another. Many of them spent their whole lives but finally failed., most people failed to leave their names in the history of mathematics, but I know they are Sisyphus-style heroes in Greek mythology. For a long time, they have been doing work that others find meaningless but they feel meaningful. I can even imagine that in those who are not Understood and even doomed to failure, they write hard at their desks, with beautiful mathematical formulas and brilliant starry skies above their heads.

In the 358 years of Fermat's Last Theorem, we have witnessed the earth-shaking changes in human society. We have been to the moon, we have invented nuclear weapons capable of destroying mankind, the United Kingdom's empire on which the sun never sets has risen and fallen, and Hitler and his evil party have also been nailed to the pillar of shame by the world. But only this humorous French man Fermat easily teased the smartest wise man in the world for 358 years by writing down a formula that even middle school students could understand. This is a legend, because even if humanity were to be wiped out, Fermat's Last Theorem would survive.

Another interesting thing about the story of Fermat's Last Theorem is that this French man Fermat was very fond of teasing United Kingdom mathematicians across the strait when he was alive, and he often mailed them the formulas he wrote without providing a proof. United Kingdom John Wallis called him "that Frenchman", but 358 years later, it happened to be United Kingdom Andrew John Wiles who solved his puzzle. In this way, the United Kingdom and France also maintain a relationship of love and death in the field of mathematics.

Is it too late to learn math again at the age of 24?

As the mathematician Alfred Adler once pointed out: "The mathematical life of a mathematician is short, and little better work comes after the age of 25 or 30. If by that age little has been accomplished, nothing will be accomplished."

In mathematics, the experience that comes with age seems to be less important than the courage and intuition of the young. Newton was only 22 when he invented calculus, and Fields, the biggest award in mathematics, will only be awarded to young math mathematicians under the age of 40. Age seems quite harsh in the face of this subject.

I'm 24 years old, a year short of the age Alfred Adler said, and not only have no grades, but I'm even going back to studying math. For two years after I graduated, I didn't touch math at all, and my job was completely unrelated to math. It does seem sad.

But when I think about the story of Fermat's Last Theorem, the mathematician who struggled for more than 300 years but was unknown. I think maybe it is also happy to be a mathematician destined to be unknown, so I plan to relearn mathematics at an age that is already considered old for mathematics.

Recently preparing for the professional exam of the APS audit department in Germany, looking at these strange and familiar formulas, I feel excited in my heart, because I am trying to turn them into something I love, and there is nothing in the world more romantic than this.

What can I get from studying mathematics?

There is a story about a student who asked Euclid what was the use of the mathematics he was studying. As soon as the lecture was over, Euclid turned to his servant and said, "Give this child a coin because he wants to gain real benefits in his studies." The student was then expelled.

For Euclid, the search for mathematical truth for the sake of mathematics itself is the most useful thing in itself

费马大定理

偶然翻到的一本关于费马大定理的书，一个困扰世间智者358年的谜，无数的数学家前仆后继的为了这个问题献出自己一生，他们很多人用了一生的时间却最终失败了，大部分人没能在数学史上留下姓名，但我知道他们是希腊神话里西西弗斯式的英雄，在漫长的岁月里做着他人觉得无意义但是自己觉得有意义的工作，我甚至能想象在那些不被理解甚至注定失败的岁月里，他们伏案奋笔疾书，笔下是优美的数学公式，头顶是灿烂的星空。

在费马大定理这358年里，我们见证了人类的社会发生了天翻地覆的变化，我们去过月球，我们发明了足以毁灭人类的核武器，英国人的日不落帝国起了又落，希特勒和他的邪恶党派也被世人钉上了耻辱柱。但是只有这个幽默的法国男人费马仅仅写下了一行连中学生都能看懂的公式，就轻而易举的戏弄了世间最聪明的智者358年。这是一段传奇，因为哪怕人类灭绝，费马大定理也会活下来。

关于费马大定理的故事，还有一个有趣的事情是这个法国男人费马在世的时候非常喜欢逗弄海峡对岸的英国数学家，他经常给他们邮寄他写下的公式却不给出出证明。英国人约翰·沃利斯把他叫做“那个该诅咒的法国佬”，但是在358年后，解决他谜题的却正好是英国人安德鲁·约翰·怀尔斯。英国人和法国人就这样在数学领域也保持着相爱相杀的关系。

24岁重新学数学晚吗

数学家艾尔弗雷德·阿德勒曾经指出过这一点：“数学家的数学生命是短暂的，25岁或30岁以后很少有更好的工作成果出现。如果到那个年龄还几乎没有什么成就，那就不再会有什么成就了。”

在数学中，随着年龄而增长的经验似乎不如年轻人的勇气和直觉来得重要。牛顿发明微积分的时候只有22岁，数学界最重大的奖项菲尔兹将也只奖给40岁以下的年轻数学家，年龄在这门学科面前似乎相当苛刻。

今年已经24岁了，离艾尔弗雷德·阿德勒说的年龄只差一岁，不仅什么成绩都没有，甚至要重新入门学习数学。在我毕业后的两年里，我完全没有接触数学，我的工作也和数学完全无关。这看上去的确挺悲哀的。

但是每当我想到费马大定理的故事，那300多年里奋斗一生却寂寂无名的数学家。我想也许成为一个注定默默无闻的数学家也是幸福的，于是我打算在这个对于数学来说已经算大龄的年龄重新学数学。

最近在准备德国APS审核部的专业考试，看着这些陌生而又熟悉的公式，我感觉的到内心的兴奋，因为我正在努力把它们变成我热爱的事物，这世界上还有什么比这更浪漫的事情了。

学数学能获得什么？

有一个故事讲到，有个学生问欧几里得他正在学习的数学有什么用处，当讲课一结束，欧几里得就转身向他的奴仆说：“给这个孩子一个硬币，因为他想在学习中获得实利。”然后这个学生就被驱逐了。

对于欧几里得来说，只是为数学本身而探求数学真理这本身就是最用的事情