ESPN, too, used to have real sports programs, like hockey and tennis. Unfortunately, college football, the only sport they still cover consistently, doesn’t appeal to me.

I think most of their old history programming was actually WWII programming. What about WWI? Does anyone remember? Does anyone care?

I might be able to think of ways to help you if you let me know what, in particular, about the certain disciplines in science and sociology piqued your interest. Feel free to email me. What I’ve found about self-study is that company is by far the most helpful tool.

Then when and if I want to progress further I’ll figure it out. I am really interested in getting my math skills up to speed so I can understand the mathematical manipulations in certain disciplines in science and sociology.

I’m still figuring out where I am going to fit all of this into my schedule. I haven’t done it yet, but my reading in general has dropped recently too. I’ve been busy with work and other life stuff, and when not busy with that I have been feeling rather . . . aimless.

I would definitely encourage you to deepen your understanding of math, for three reasons:

1) It’s useful.

I kind of disagree with mortalterror about math being useless for non-scientists/engineers. In fact, I contend that math is more useful for a non-scientist/engineer than literary theory is for anyone who isn’t a professor in literature. I believe this is true even for “non-useful” math like number theory or differential topology or set theory. The authority of the “hard” sciences in dictating what people believe today rivals that of the Medieval Church, and rigorous mathematics is essential in all of the sciences (indeed, rigorous mathematics is an essential part of why the “hard” sciences are so authoritative). Without some insight into how math works, it is difficult to understand the limits of science. If you have an interest in philosophy and logic, mathematics is especially important because a large part of modern philosophy is mathematical logic. Indeed, in speaking of logic in distinction from rhetoric, one is really speaking of mathematical logic.

2) It’s interesting, even beautiful.

Unfortunately, if your primary exposure to math is from high school in the USA, there’s a good chance you don’t know what math is really about (speaking in general, of course — I don’t know you, and you seem to be an independent learner, so you’re probably actually ahead on the curve). A deeper understanding of math might open up a whole new kind of aesthetic experience. Mathematicians and scientists are always striving for “elegance”, which is an aesthetic and intuitive aspect that goes beyond correctness and is quite satisfying.

3) I’m curious.

I’ve encountered many people with technical backgrounds (i.e., with mathematical training) who developed an interest in some field of the humanities and pursued it to a fairly advanced level, but I have not yet encountered anyone with a background in the humanities pursue a technical field (i.e., one that requires mathematical training) later in life to a level equivalent to an undergraduate curriculum. I’m very curious about how you would approach it, and how you progress and keep yourself motivated. I think it would definitely be worth the effort.

Yeah, there is always so much to study. I admit my desire to improve my math skills stems from my desire to learn more about Sociology, Logic, and various sciences. I understand the rhetoric, big picture stuff of a lot of these disciplines, but I want to be able to understand some of the math components to these disciplines as well.