Just want to offer some help. If you are interested in math, don't get disheartened about how tangled things seem. Even if you can't find any external reference

Just want to offer some help. If you are interested in math, don't get disheartened about how tangled things seem. Even if you can't find any external references to a broader context, you will find that, given enough time and effort, a broader context emerges in your mind. Dig until you get tired or bored - because you could really keep digging forever. If you ever feel lost, read the masters - Euler and Dirichlet are two favorites. Here is a great book: https://www.amazon.com/Euler-Master-Dolciani-Mathematical-Expositions/dp/0883853280 https://www.amazon.com/Euler-Master-Dolciani-Mathematical-Ex... If you get tired of that, read about the greats. MacTutor has a great archive. I especially like their biographies: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/ https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/ The most important thing (only my opnion) is to not lose the sense of wonder at the beauty of the universe as seen mathematically. I don't know what your particular situation is - are you in university or school and studying math or learning math as you juggle a career? Any more specific advice depends on your circumstances and your objectives, but I really hope I was able to help somewhat.