--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always been good at math. It's…" description: "\"“I've always been good at math. It's straightforward, black-and-white, right and wrong. Equations. Da thought of people as books to be read, but I've a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg" --- # I've always been good at math. It's straightforward… ![“I've always been good at math. It's straightforward, black-and-white, right and wrong. Equations. Da thought of people as books to be read, but I've always thought of them more as formulas—full of variables, but always the sum of their parts. That's what their noise is, really: all of a person's…” quote by Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg) > ““I've always been good at math. It's straightforward, black-and-white, right and wrong. Equations. Da thought of people as books to be read, but I've always thought of them more as formulas—full of variables, but always the sum of their parts. That's what their noise is, really: all of a person's components layered messily over one another. Thought and feeling and memory and all of it unorganized, until a person dies. Then it all gets compiled, straightened out into this linear thing, and you see exactly what the various parts add up to. What they equal.”” [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are complex, like equations with many variables that sum to a whole after death. **In simple terms:** Human complexity is like layered equations. Key Takeaway Recognize multifaceted nature of individuals. Themes identity complexity human nature Mood thoughtful empathetic Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - counseling - personal growth - storytelling Key Concepts psychology systems thinking integrative analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor the full person? - What parts of self are often hidden? A Different Perspective Simplification can erase nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Equations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equations/) [Good math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-math/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Math Straightforward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math-straightforward-2333329/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Right and wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-and-wrong/) [Thought Formulas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-formulas-845809/) ## Related quotes > [“Da thought of people as books to be read, but I've always thought of them more as formulas- full of variables, but always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/da-thought-of-people-as-books-to-be-read-but-i-ve-always-thought-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [My father was really good with math. It's a funny thing, I don't remember my father or my mother being so mechanical-minded. My father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/my-father-was-really-good-with-math-it-s-a-funny-thing-i-don-t/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I'm real good with math, with numbers, like my dad was. I'm pretty much dialed in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk-hogan/i-m-real-good-with-math-with-numbers-like-my-dad-was-i-m-pretty-much/) [Hulk Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk-hogan/) > [Mathematics is the only good metaphysics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/mathematics-is-the-only-good-metaphysics/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [I was never good at math.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/i-was-never-good-at-math/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [I am too good for philosophy and not good enough for physics. Mathematics is in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/i-am-too-good-for-philosophy-and-not-good-enough-for-physics/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [I joke around all the time, 'I'm Asian; I'm really good at math.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-song/i-joke-around-all-the-time-i-m-asian-i-m-really-good-at-math/) [Brenda Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-song/) > [I was good at math, math was my thing - but I was not nearly good enough to be an astrophysicist. I was way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/i-was-good-at-math-math-was-my-thing-but-i-was-not-nearly-good-enough/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [I was particularly good at math and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/i-was-particularly-good-at-math-and-science/) [William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/) > [The Good Lord made all the integers; the rest is man's doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-kronecker/the-good-lord-made-all-the-integers-the-rest-is-man-s-doing/) [Leopold Kronecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-kronecker/) > [In high school I was good at math and everybody wanted me to do something with that - mathematics or engineering - which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-owens/in-high-school-i-was-good-at-math-and-everybody-wanted-me-to-do/) [Laura Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-owens/) > [A good mathematical joke is better, and better mathematics, than a dozen mediocre papers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/a-good-mathematical-joke-is-better-and-better-mathematics-than-a/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I tend to jot down moments, lines, interactions that don't really make any sense. I try and explain these scattered notes to my close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-farhadi/i-tend-to-jot-down-moments-lines-interactions-that-don-t-really-make/) [Asghar Farhadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-farhadi/) > [My algebra was relatively poor. I found it very difficult to use equations that substituted numbers - to which I had a synesthetic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/my-algebra-was-relatively-poor-i-found-it-very-difficult-to-use/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [...the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots: Algebra as far as the quadratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-science-of-calculation-also-is-indispensable-as-far-as-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by Victoria Schwab > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Perhaps it is in our best interest to... to surrender rather than waste words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/perhaps-it-is-in-our-best-interest-to-to-surrender-rather-than-waste/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“The dead are silent, and objects, when they hold impressions, are quiet until you reach through them. But the touch of living is loud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-dead-are-silent-and-objects-when-they-hold-impressions-are-quiet/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Having something and losing it, it's so much crueler than never having had it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/having-something-and-losing-it-it-s-so-much-crueler-than-never-having/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“People are made up of so many small details. Some—like the smell of cookies baking—we can recreate. Or at least try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/people-are-made-up-of-so-many-small-details-some-like-the-smell-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I suppose it doesn't matter how they get out. All that matters is they do. And when they do, they must be found. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-suppose-it-doesn-t-matter-how-they-get-out-all-that-matters-is-they/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“The silliest things shatter you. A T-shirt discovered behind the washing machine. A toy that rolled under a cabinet in the garage, forgotten until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-silliest-things-shatter-you-a-t-shirt-discovered-behind-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“What a mess. Truths are messy and lies are messy, and I don’t care what Da said, it’s impossible to cut a person into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/what-a-mess-truths-are-messy-and-lies-are-messy-and-i-don-t-care-what/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“People aren't smart when it comes to the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/people-aren-t-smart-when-it-comes-to-the-dead/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Let them think you a demon or a god,” she said. “Let them fear you. It does not matter.” “It matters a great deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/let-them-think-you-a-demon-or-a-god-she-said-let-them-fear-you-it/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“What do schools do that for?” he grumbles. “What’s the point of summer if they give you homework?” “Exactly!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/what-do-schools-do-that-for-he-grumbles-what-s-the-point-of-summer-if/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I am broken the way most writers are, stories leaking through the cracks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-am-broken-the-way-most-writers-are-stories-leaking-through-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Do you ever wonder why music brings a soul to surface? What makes beauty work as well as pain?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/do-you-ever-wonder-why-music-brings-a-soul-to-surface-what-makes/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“But there was something else, too, a strange excitement at the idea of playing normal, and every time he tried to untangle how he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/but-there-was-something-else-too-a-strange-excitement-at-the-idea-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Maybe one day the words will pour out like so many others, easy and smooth and on their own. Right now they take pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/maybe-one-day-the-words-will-pour-out-like-so-many-others-easy-and/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Explore all 231 Victoria Schwab quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I've always been good at math. It's straightforward, black-and-white, right and wrong. Equations. Da thought of people as books to be read, but I've always thought of them more as formulas—full of variables, but always the sum of their parts. That's what their noise is, really: all of a person's components layered messily over one another. Thought and feeling and memory and all of it unorganized, until a person dies. Then it all gets compiled, straightened out into this linear thing, and you see exactly what the various parts add up to. What they equal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victoria Schwab" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-straightforward-black-and-white/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-straightforward-black-and-white/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/291/victoria-schwab-1505_death_i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-strai_2648951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've always been good at math. It's straightforward, black-and-white, right and wrong. Equations. Da thought…” — Victoria Schwab", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Victoria Schwab", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I've always been good at math....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-straightforward-black-and-white/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-ve-always-been-good-at-math-it-s-straightforward-black-and-white/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```