There are practical uses for much math but in very many cases it's only practical in extremely specialized fields/cases. Meaning, in most cases very impractica

There are practical uses for much math but in very many cases it's only practical in extremely specialized fields/cases. Meaning, in most cases very impractical if speaking strictly in terms of practicalities. Yet, it's widely taught, widely misunderstood, and so widely hated. The idea has become humorous to me -- math, a natural pervasive wonder of our universe, hated by many. Very impressive feat. On this topic this book is great: A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart. It opened my eyes to the concept of viewing much of math not in terms of something strictly practical, but rather in broader terms, ie. natural art and beauty with very practical applications mixed in here and there. Just as one person enjoys painting, another enjoys dabbling in mathematics taking pleasure from the elegance.