Did I do that?

Mathematics has always been a life long love of mine. It was my favorite subject in school and I would past the time as girl working the math puzzle books my mother bought me. So it was just natural for me to major in mathematics in college and I was even a PhD student in applied mathematics (I dropped out after 3 years - a story for another day).

A page from my numerical analysis textbook.

A couple of days ago I was happened to pick up one of my old math text books and was just stunned at the fact that I once fully comprehended everything in the book. If the notes in the margins weren't in my handwriting I would think that I was peeking at the work of a completely different person.  It made me think "Am I getting dumber in my old age? Is my mental capacity actually diminishing?" The hardest math problem I tackle now are applying percents and ratios in order to forecast revenue and expenses, the sudoku variation puzzles I do  for leisure, and calculating sales prices and tips. This is a far cry from the young woman who studied math theory and application ranging from number theory, statistics, optimization. I just sat there thinking what happened?

Well it is a classic example of use or loose it. I had trained and conditioned my brain for years to think a certain way and process a very specific type of information, namely mathematical theory. And like any skill set they get rusty without use - it has been almost 10 years since I was in my graduate program.

The most challenging math I do now. Look at the difference.

I always say that I will take the time to pick up one of my math texts and began to seriously study again, but it just gets pushed to the bottom of the list in terms of priorities. Right now I am more interested in cooking, photography, dance, and arts & crafts. Maybe one day I will be able to go back to my first love.

Did you work for years developing a talent or skill that you no longer use?