My failed enlightenment I've been thinking about my intellectual education, and what I wish had gone differently. I am 26 years old. I’ve been reading books and going to school since I was 8. This puts my career as a learner at about 19 years. Honestly? I feel a bit disappointed. I've had a predominantly "humanistic" education, which is a nice way of saying that my gaps in scientific subjects are embarrassing. Meanwhile, I ended up interacting with people who've invested their formative years in getting a solid foundation in mathy and sciency subjects. Inevitably, I found myself envying their skills and wondering where my study time has gone, and what do I have to show for it. In particular, I have diagnosed myself with a condition I call numeracy neglect. When I reflect on my education, I find that: (1) I was a bright and precocious kid. (2) I was always very curious and had a strong motivation to understand the world. (3) Despite this, and despite all the resources that society invested in me, I managed to go at least 15 years without learning much about mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science (to mention just the basics). This contradiction pains me, but it also makes me curious. How does something like this happen? Numeracy neglect I will focus on mathematics, since it's a subject that most people are taught, but it's typically misunderstood and unappreciated. Reflecting on my experience, I can identify two problems. 1. Aesthetic insensitivity. The inability to experience the beauty of mathematics, and to apply one’s general curiosity to it. 2. Epistemic ignorance. The inability to see or accept the fact that mathematics is the language of science, and if you don't understand mathematics, you won't understand most science. In general, the inability to understand mathematics' relevance and usefulness in life. Another way to put it is that the first is a failure to grasp the intrinsic value of mathematics [1], while the second is a failure t