Maths is NOT Marmite

Maths. The most polarising subject in school.

Ask anyone—kid or adult—how they feel about maths. You’ll get one of two answers: love it or get it away from me.

No middle ground.

Just like Marmite.

But what if I told you… we’re all born to be mathematicians?

You’re probably laughing. Because we’ve all been there—sitting in class, staring at the board, struggling to understand the question.

A few hands have already shot up like rockets. They already know.

And you’re still decoding the problem, feeling like an outsider to the special 'they get the answer' club.

It's easy to sit and think Maths isn’t for me.

Here’s the twist: maths is everyone’s thing.

Think of it like this: maths is a sense.

We all have senses—a sense of humour, a sense of rhythm.

Maths? It’s the sense of seeing patterns, relationships, and connections.

Sure, some people are born with sharper senses. Others struggle.

I drew the genetic short straw and am horrendously short-sighted. Without my glasses, the world is a big, blurry mess. Yet, I don’t wake up each morning declaring, I’m not a seeing kind of person.

I put on my glasses and enjoy seeing just as much as someone with perfect vision.

But with maths? We’re quick to say, I’m not a maths person.

Funny. Especially since humans are wired to spot patterns.

It’s how we bring order to chaos. It’s instinctual. Comforting. Natural.

And here’s the kicker: we don’t just see patterns, we love to make them.

Artists? Pattern-makers.
Musicians? Pattern-makers.
Writers? Story patterns.
Even your favourite playlist is a symphony of patterns.

Ever wonder why music makes us feel so good? Leibniz (co-inventor of calculus) said it best:

Music is the pleasure people feel when counting but don’t realise it.

But imagine if everyone was forced to learn music by rote. Memorise notation, symbols, transpose, do the same tasks over and over so that we can be tested on how quickly we can regurgitate it on command, and maybe—maybe—if we're good at that, after ten years, you’d get to play an instrument or compose your own piece with your own creative expression.

Would music feel like a love/hate subject too? Just like maths does now?

If we sharpen our sense of patterns and connections by observing the world around us, we’ll see maths for what it truly is: the language we use to articulate the world.

Here's how to start:

Maths doesn’t just live in the classroom—it’s all around you.

A river:

A tree:

Next time you're at the optician, ask to see the photo they take of your retina and look at the pattern of the blood vessels you see there.

See the similarity?

The connection?

The pattern?

It’s geometry. It's sequences. It’s fractals. It’s nature’s way of doing maths.

What about arches? Natural ones. Sculptures. Bridges.

Anyone seeing quadratic equations?

If you only memorise maths by rote in the classroom, it’ll always feel like Marmite—love it or hate it.

But if you search for the patterns? Connect the dots between what you see in the world around you and what's in your textbook. You’ll start to find the middle ground.

So next time you’re faced with a maths problem, ask yourself:

What patterns am I looking at here?

And just like that, you’re a budding mathematician.

Welcome to the club.

Nici

:)

P.S.

If you know someone who’s ever said, “Maths isn’t my thing,” why not share this with them?

You never know—it might just change their mind. :)