Why I Built Magic Internet Math (and Where It’s Going Next)

In this solo “special” for Episode 5, I step back from our usual co-hosted format with Rob to share the why and how behind Magic Internet Math. I walk through what’s live today—100+ free courses, skill-building games, and several proof‑of‑concept video series—and explain the core idea driving it all: teaching math as a liberal art. I trace the project’s roots through my own journey from actuarial work to quant research, the textbooks and OCW lectures that shaped me, and how cryptography, Bitcoin, and daily study of abstract algebra inform the site’s design. I also preview what’s next: a subscriber-only Basic Algebra heroic‑epic course (with a substantial study guide), more original series and classes inspired by Euclid, Gauss, Steiner, and Satoshi, and a points system that will eventually gate advanced offerings. If you’re curious about the curriculum sources—Strang, Lang, Hungerford, Rosen, Euclid, Priestley, Atlas Shrugged, Satoshi’s forum posts, and more—I’ve linked canonical editions and archives below so you can explore exactly what’s influencing the build.

• 'Magic Internet Math (site)': https://magicinternetmath.com/
• 'MIT OpenCourseWare – 18.06SC Linear Algebra (Gilbert Strang)': https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-06sc-linear-algebra-fall-2011/
• 'Gilbert Strang – Introduction to Linear Algebra (6th ed. sample/preface)': https://math.mit.edu/~gs/linearalgebra/ila6/ila6acr05.pdf
• 'A First Course in Abstract Algebra (Fraleigh), 8th ed. – Pearson': https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/first-course-in-abstract-algebra-a/P200000006181/9780135859759
• 'Elementary Number Theory (Kenneth H. Rosen), 7th ed. – Pearson': https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/elementary-number-theory/P200000007112/9780135696897
• 'Algebra (Thomas W. Hungerford) – Springer GTM 73': https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4612-6101-8
• 'Basic Mathematics (Serge Lang) – Springer': https://link.springer.com/book/9780387967875
• 'Calculus: A Liberal Art (W. M. Priestley) – Springer UTM': https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4612-1658-2
• 'Euclid’s Elements (English/Greek via MIT Classics & Perseus)': https://classics.mit.edu/Euclid/euc.html
• 'Men of Mathematics (E. T. Bell) – Simon & Schuster (publisher page)': https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Men-of-Mathematics/E-T-Bell/9780671628185
• 'Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) – Penguin Random House (publisher page)': https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/296832/atlas-shrugged-centennial-ed-hc-by-ayn-rand/
• 'Satoshi Nakamoto’s BitcoinTalk Posts (archived) – Nakamoto Institute': https://satoshi.nakamotoinstitute.org/posts/bitcointalk/
• 'libsecp256k1 (secp256k1 C library) – Bitcoin Core GitHub': https://github.com/bitcoin-core/secp256k1
• 'Mastering Bitcoin (Antonopoulos/Harding) – Official GitHub (3rd ed.)': https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook
• 'Programming Bitcoin (Jimmy Song) – Official book page': https://jimmysong.org/books/programming-bitcoin/
• 'Fountain (podcast/video platform hosting the series)': https://fountain.fm/
• 'Waldorf Education – Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA)': https://www.waldorfeducation.org/
• 'Rudolf Steiner Press (publisher of Steiner’s works)': https://www.rudolfsteinerpress.com/
• 'John Stillwell – University of San Francisco faculty profile': https://www.usfca.edu/arts-sciences/programs/undergraduate/mathematics/faculty