Is the Further Maths Class What You Think It Is?

By Gabriel Ho Weng Kit (24S02A)

Is the Further Mathematics (FM) class really full of nerds? Does everyone do nothing but Maths and Physics?

Indeed, most FM students have a flair for Maths, but the majority of us do not love doing it as a hobby. (Admittedly, many of us took FM to avoid having to take Chemistry.) But there are indeed a handful of us who treat Maths as a hobby. They enjoy even reading undergraduate-level Maths and discussing abstract concepts with one another—truly a match made in heaven.

Debunking Stereotypes

1. FM Students are Not Aesthetically Inclined

It is not uncommon to assume that all FM students lack artistic ingenuity and creativity. 

However, there are a few talented art enthusiasts. Vera Ong Liwen (24S02A) loves creating works of digital art on her iPad, and she takes pride in the intricate and precise strokes that she draws to enhance the vibrancy of the characters. In fact, it usually takes her only 15 minutes to one hour to draw a piece that she would post on her art Instagram account.

Our class is also not lacking in musical talent. As part of the Chinese Literary Drama and Cultural Society (CLDCS), Fang Jiani (24S02A) writes song lyrics and creates melodies, citing that she finds it “very relaxing”. She also has a flair for singing and enjoys singing songs from a wide variety of music genres, ranging from pop songs sung by famous artists like Taylor Swift to more niche genres such as Taiwanese pop music.

2. FM Students Only Study

You may think that the majority of FM students are bookworms, couch potatoes, study machines, academic weapons—you name it. While we may fit some of these stereotypes, many of us do also exercise, be it playing sports or going to the gym.

Tran Doan Duy Phuc (24S02A) definitely contradicts this stereotype. He has been visiting the gym thrice a week since the start of Year 5 and he spends copious amounts of time engaging in physical training. He prides himself on being able to perform squats and bench presses in excess of 130 kg and 90 kg respectively.

I need my workout before anything. 

Tran Doan Duy Phuc (24S02A)

3. We Talk Excessively About Math 

We do occasionally make references to Maths in our everyday conversations such as “I am on the left side of the normal distribution curve” to joke that our grades are among the lowest in the class. 

It’s likely a similar situation in other classes, where we use topics and concepts familiar to all of us to convey ideas that everyone would understand. (Literature students, for example, also reference their texts like The Great Gatsby, such as when discussing toxic relationships.)

Unexpectedly, we do not use excessive mathematical jargon in our speech. In fact, we do not appreciate anyone who makes unnecessary references to Maths in daily conversation. After all, more than half of the subjects we take are already filled with them.

4. FM Students Enjoy Math Olympiad (MO)

Not many of us truly enjoy MO in and of itself. Most of us actually find MO competitions extremely challenging, hence we dislike learning MO content. Ironically, many of us consider it a miracle if we attain a bronze medal in the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad (SMO).

Something Unexpected 

It is probably not surprising that we are adept at the usage of mathematical language. However, it may surprise some of you that a select few of us almost have an obsession with the usage of the English Language, such as the definition of words, grammatical structure and linguistic rules. Maybe we are secret English Language and Linguistics (ELL) students.

It is not uncommon for us to turn a typical conversation into an “academic” discussion on the basics of the English Language, where we spend an inordinate amount of time bickering over language structure and usage. Perhaps it is due to our warped sense of humour, or the fact that we sometimes treat the English Language as an abstract form of mathematical language.

For example, a discussion on an illness that had plagued several of us turned into an even more hilarious discussion on word categories. It happened when someone mentioned, “The fact that you have to distinguish via an adjective undermines your point” in response to another who was clarifying a point.

We proceeded to question the functions of adjectives and adverbs, and inquired on the word categories that words such as ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ belong to. To top it all off, we began to nitpick on grammatical and punctuation errors in our text messages, such as inappropriate tenses, errors involving subject-verb agreements and the absence of full stops at the end of sentences.

We are Not as Different as You Might Think

We may be ‘quirky’ in some ways, but we share many more similarities than differences with the non-FM classes. 

We share many interests with other classes. For instance, there are several cat lovers in the class.

We used to pet and take pictures of Teddy while he was residing in RI, just like any other Rafflesian. Additionally, ever since Teddy was adopted, some of us occasionally head over to the Year 1-4 campus in search of the cats residing there. 

We lose track of time watching those adorable cats and petting their heads, with some even going the extra mile to use their savings to feed the stray cats. (However, for your safety, don’t feed stray cats.)

We also like playing games and joking around during breaks, even though it can become slightly excessive. Some enjoy playing frisbee at the back of the class, but using soft toys instead of frisbees, while others enjoy drumming using two pool sticks and a pail that we brought.

The FM class is not weird or unusual; we just take a less conventional subject combination, and have an equally vibrant and unique class spirit as the rest of the Rafflesian community.