Project Update: Feb ’23

Hello Numeracy Fam!

Those of you who know me may know that I have a lot going on in my life right now. For those who don’t, I may get into some of those details in the future. But this project remains one of my top priorities because I believe in it. With each exploratory engagement that I have, some common themes occur:

• People learn better when they understand the application of the math they’re learning
• Statistics is crucial in a very broad range of fields
• Following your passion is vital, and math can play a role in helping you to achieve your goals.

Perfection is the Enemy of progress

Winston Churchill

Churchill’s words resonate deeply with me because I am a perfectionist for many reasons. I knew that if I let the need to master this art (and the corresponding fear of being judged for my failures) win out, my dream of this project would be as good as dead. So instead, I’ve forced myself to adopt the following:

Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward

John C Maxwell

Here are the lessons and updates from my learnings as I’ve gotten my feet wet with the project:

1. Highlights:
   1. I will be producing corresponding 5-minute highlight reels of each interview to provide the casual listener with the key points of interest.
   2. Forty minutes for an entire episode is a lot of time. I’m going to be looking to edit and release episodes between 20 and 30 minutes in length to be more easily consumable
   3. I will revisit the first two episodes shortly to put together Highlight reels.
2. Podcast: I will soon launch The Numeracy Report as an official podcast! Now you will be able to listen to full episodes of interest in more situations, such as during your morning commute or while working out.
3. Newsletter: If interested in The Numeracy Project, please add your e-mail to my newsletter subscription. I will email you about new episodes, math news, and relevant information. With all social media presences and places for things to go, this is the easiest way to keep informed.
4. Give a Minute to the Project initiative: I’ve created this project component because I want to emphasize how the network of the professional and education communities is such a central part of the project.  There are three key ways I want everybody to contribute a minute of their time:
   1. Fill this out to explain how you use math in your work
   2. Think through your network and let me know if you know anyone passionate about how they use math in their work
   3. Subscribe to the newsletter!

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for their support of the project. I’ve experienced a lot of fear and dread with putting myself out there. Every like, every share, every subscribe, every comment, every piece of feedback, and every view has helped me push through it.

Stay tuned. There’s a lot of great work in the pipeline! And as always, please continue to provide feedback!

Love,

Santhra