New Book Hopes To Reduce The Anxiety Of Mathematics Faced By Many

By Shannon Hicks

Famously, for Forrest Gump, life is like a box of chocolates.

For Chuck Paulsen, life is like a fabulous chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookie. Mr Paulsen sees math as something that provides all of the ingredients for life’s answers. The longtime Newtown resident knows that if he wants one of those wonderful cookies created by Bethel-based caterer Loree Ogen, the easiest way to get one is to visit her shop and purchase one. But if an individual has the ingredients and the know-how to properly mix and bake those ingredients, that person can find his or her own way to the cookie.

Mr Paulsen, who has been teaching mechanical engineering at the college level since 1969, has no anxiety when it comes to math. He wants others to feel the same way, so he has written a book called Math Anxiety Relief for Nearly Everyone.

The 266-page softcover released in April includes within each chapter a summary, “a final equation, a final formula, a final graph, and final something,” Mr Paulsen explains in his prologue. These final offerings are his way of helping readers find their way from a counter piled with ingredients and kitchen equipment to their own delicious cookie. Math Anxiety Relief for Nearly Everyone is Mr Paulsen’s gift to help students see, he says, that calculus does not have to be difficult.

It is not a math textbook, he is quick to point out.

“But it could be a supplementary text,” he said. The book, he says, is a survey book for people wanting to learn the language of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Mr Paulsen hopes the book will find its way into the hands — and study materials — of anyone who understands many of the laws of nature but needs to brush up on the mathematics that describe these laws, anyone who wants a quick introduction to calculus, students who want to pursue studies in STEM but are currently taking noncredit developmental math courses, students who need to bridge the gap between noncalculus- and calculus-based STEM courses, and K–12 educators.

“Recent studies show that math anxiety among college students has risen in the last few years. If K–12 teachers themselves have math anxiety, what would you expect?” said Mr Paulsen.

“Professor Eva Rivera of the University of New Mexico stated in a recent conference that ‘math anxiety is defined as feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with solving mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations,’” he pointed out. “Many students decide on a course of study based on the math courses needed to complete the degree requirements. It is little wonder that STEM degrees are declining.”

His book, he says, “puts the fun back into mathematics by demystifying confusing symbols and terminology. Think of this book as your personal journey leading to an eventual understanding of calculus, using everyday language to introduce new concepts in small manageable steps.”

After “a rocky start at a community college,” he says, W. Charles “Chuck” Paulsen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and his master’s in the same subject from Stanford University. Mr Paulsen credits his professors at Purdue for making mechanical engineering “a joy to learn.”

Following college he began a career at DuPont Company, where he was a pioneer in the development of the finite element method for stress analysis. He also, he said, introduced computerized numerical methods in manufacturing while helping a numerical control manufacturing operation. In 1969 be also began teaching mechanical engineering in the evenings at local colleges and universities.

In 1972 he and his wife, Lee, moved to Newtown when DuPont transferred Mr Paulsen to its biomedical products facility here. The Paulsens have lived in Newtown since.

He opted for early retirement in 1986.

“I took advantage of the opportunity and became an entrepreneur,” he wrote in the closing pages of his book. He helped start two successful engineering software companies and continued to teach, moving into a full-time position in 2007. It was during his appointment at Naugatuck Valley Community College the following year that he was inspired to write Math Anxiety Relief For Nearly Everyone.

Step Back and Relax

“Nearly all my students were children of blue collar parents,” he said. “They had math anxiety for sure. My book was intended for them to step back at bit, relax, and get an introduction of the big picture in simple terms. My friend Chuckie even provides a little humor throughout.”

ChuckieSez is a series of breakout boxes that appear regularly throughout the book, offering summaries, clarification, or even light-hearted first person discussion of what may have been recently discussed or is coming up.

“Chuckie is my inner spirit,” said Mr Paulsen, “with a lighter look at things.”

(One such example: In an early chapter covering “Equations of The Trigonometric Kind,” the author admits, “I do not go out of my way to memorize a lot of stuff.  I have a large collection of STEM books in my office so why strain my brain. But some things stick in the brain without any effort on my part. Eqs. (3.15) and (3.16) are two such equations. I also know that the sin(30°) = 0.5. I get a lot of mileage out of this. If you feel you are out of sync with me because you can’t remember stuff like this do not let it add to your math anxiety.  Just remember where you keep this book...”)

Mr Paulsen is in daily contact, he says, with people who are equally concerned with the dearth of Americans comfortable with math in everyday life. He points to a report recently in April by the US Joint Economic Committee, which said in part, “The US is failing to produce an ample supply of workers to meet the growing needs of both STEM and non-STEM employers. … The share of STEM doctorates awarded to domestic students enrolled in US colleges and universities has declined from 74 percent in 1985 to 54 percent in 2006 [and that] average math and science test scores for US 15-year-olds fall at or below international averages among nations with the highest gross domestic products.”

Extensive use of color diagrams, pictures, and graphs are also used throughout the book. Microsoft Excel is introduced early in the book to show how mathematics can be made visual.

Math Anxiety Relief For Nearly Everyone is available through Amazon.com (where visitors can also use the website’s LookInside! feature to see the author’s writing style and the presentation of countless illustrations, graphs. and charts. A visit to his website, STEMbooks.com, offers more of the same).

The book is available for $39.95 online at either website, and Mr Paulsen is working on making it available for Kindles at a reduced rate.

Mr Paulsen is already planning the next book from STEM Books. Math Anxiety Relief for Technical People will introduce more mathematical concepts targeting engineers and engineering students and will out next year.

In the meantime, Loree Ogee — the caterer and friend behind the author’s favorite  cookie — even shared her chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookie recipe for Mr Paulsen’s readers.