Ryan Opara-Baldwin '28
First math class at Swarthmore: My first math class was Math 28 with Professor Gomez!
What was your favorite math class and why? My favorite math class was Modern Algebra I (Math 67) with Professor Hsu! I absolutely loved the introduction into symmetries and abstraction Math 67 exposed me to (especially when it came to numbers)! Math 67 was when I began to appreciate the symmetries embedded in polynomials and how these ideas illuminate not only structures in higher arithmetic, but the beauty in rigorous, motivated abstraction.
After Math 67, I took the Algebra II seminar with Professor Hsu and a directed reading with Pat Devlin, further feeding into my love for these delicate concepts, pointed observations, and fun calculations!
Why did you become a math major? Firstly, I enjoy puzzles! When it came to make a decision on which science I wanted to continue exploring, I think it just ended up happening due to how I am as a person. I loved problem-solving and hated physical lab work.
I like having extra time to experiment and play with examples than the traditional lab time would allow. I enjoy going astray and proving my own conjectures I've made with my professors purely out of curiosity. I am genuinely at my happiest just sitting and thinking about the exact same question repeatedly for hours at a time. I love writing scientific arguments rooted in logic, deductive reasoning and waves of unexpected creativity.
Most importantly, I dislike chalking up any unexpected result to just "things just happen like that." There is a reason why mathematical phenomena happens in the theoretical math world. When an unknown pattern reoccurs repeatedly, we grow deeply suspicious and question: "why?" Then we question why again, and again, and so forth. Glenn Stevens once said, "question the answers and answer the questions." In a sense, math is the study of well-posed, intriguing questions. I love asking questions!
How do you expect to use your mathematics after leaving Swarthmore? I would like to go to graduate school and study some flavor of number theory and/or geometry. Afterwards, I am open to wherever the wind takes me. It would be cool to be a professor, exploring my research questions and teaching future scientists. However, I would also be interested in things like working as a translator for a math textbook publishing company. I would also be happy doing something completely different from what I studied in graduate school, so long as I have moments throughout the week to think and talk to others about fun math ideas.
What advice do you have for an incoming student? Many of us were taught to calculate values without understanding the value in reasoning from axioms, or at best with hand-wavy justifications. This habit of mind often carries into one's first proof class. Math 67 says, "throw all that misguided intuition out the door --- we're starting from ground zero!"
At some point during your time at Swarthmore, I would absolutely advise all students to take Math 67, as it is one of the few courses guaranteed to leave you no choice but to learn how to construct mathematical arguments, build scientific intuition and your problem-solving skills essentially from the ground up.
What happens when we need to rigorously justify the remnants of mathematical intuition we've never questioned? When the only tools to our disposal is careful thinking and a selected set of examples? Well, we get an invitation to learn mathematics!
Anything else you'd like to share? Cherish your mathematical community and let your insatiable hunger for problem-solving guide you! Two of my favorite math quotes are from Francis Su's "Mathematics for Human Flourishing." [1] "The ultimate goal of mathematics is not to make a dent in the universe, but to make a dent in the human being." [2] "If you want to teach people to care about math, you don't start with making them do long division. You start with play."
