Practicing math consciously means conceptualizing new information within a larger framework instead of memorizing details blindly. It means asking ourselves leading questions to focus our unconscious memories and skills on one task at a time rather than flying on autopilot. Conscious math involves zooming out from narrow number crunching details to look around for context clues and see the bigger picture now and then. By contrast, rote memorization can be good for storing basic facts, but mindless drills can also diminish creativity and lead to tunnel vision.
Looking more broadly at how math facts fit together can build a useful framework good for integrating new ideas and recollecting old ones later. Colorful notes and diagrams fill this book with memorably distinctive visual images, drawing together essential elements of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and basic calculus. Conscious Math condenses years of math instruction into one interactive volume to help frame that bigger picture. This manual is both a guide for developing new skills and a tool for rekindling past knowledge, or for sharing it with others. Some pages take real work to puzzle out, but each of them includes potential switches just waiting to be discovered and turned on, designed to spark those light bulb moments when things suddenly make sense.