The Math Lesson

Guest Post by Riley Carson

Midway through college I had decided to pursue a career as a mathematician. But not without some doubts. I was drawn to math because I enjoyed it, but was unsure if I had sufficient talent to reach the Master’s or Doctor’s Degree I was aiming for. 

While mulling over my situation, my father approached me one morning just as I was about to leave for the college campus to go to a math class. “I think you might like this,” he said, as he handed me an old math book he had picked up at a library sale. “It has an unusual feature as you will see when you open it.” 

I opened the book to discover the book’s printer had accidentally manufactured it with the cover upside down relative to its contents. “Think of it as a collector’s item,” said my father. I thanked him for the oddity, then headed off to my morning class. 

Arriving at school a few minutes early, I dropped in to talk to the math professor. “Good morning Riley,” he said. “I happened to have something you may want. Book publishing agents are always sending me free copies of the latest editions of their math books, in hopes I will choose them for a course. But this one is unusual. Have a look.” 

I opened the book and found the book’s printer had accidentally manufactured it with the cover upside down relative to its contents! 

I shared with the professor the book gift from my dad that very morning. “What are the odds?” I asked.

He replied, “Hard to know without more data, but probably astronomical that it would happen twice, not only on the same day, but within an hour of each other.”

Later that day as I pondered on the message of this synchronicity, it became clear that my book-cover vision of a math career was upside down from what I thought it would be. 

I chose to accept this interpretation as true, and soon switched to a career path that would better fit my life purpose. Never before that day, nor in the decades since then, have I encountered a book with an upside down cover. And I have been involved with thousands of books over the years.

Please note: All images are for illustration purposes only unless otherwise stated.