By Aji Kang Who is math to you? To me, math is a funny friend who reminds me that I have so much to learn, who shows me that I gain a lot from letting go of ideas I hold on to, and who patiently waits for me to mature enough to see past the biases I have against them. Math is someone who has brought me closer to so many inspiring friends, and helps me connect with people even when we are distanced by culture, ideology, or life experiences. I study math because it helps me see myself and others differently. “Every being cries out silently to be read differently.” (Simone Weil, page 188 of Gravity and Grace ) This quote is also the epigraph to the first chapter of Francis Su’s Mathematics for Human Flourishing , a book about empathy and how math can foster personal growth, and it inspires me at the same time that it unsettles me. Why does every being cry out to be read differently ? Does that mean that just about any alternate reading will satisfy them? Why cry out silently ?…