As many people have already pointed out, telling people I study math elicits the same responses:
1, no I’m not, and 2, I don’t care. Don’t get me wrong, I feel very flattered, but it’s also starting to feel awkward. I used to “console” the people that feel math insecurity, but they either don’t seem interested or just want to trauma dump their past experiences.
I thought about saying “I’m trying to study math” or “I work with numbers” but that feels like I’m trying to hide something.
And with the people who also study math/physics/etc, I enjoy talking about math, but I’m no way near smart enough to engage in conversations about math outside of what’s going to be on the exam. This is also awkward when I meet these people.
I’m starting to dread this topic in general because no matter what audience, I don’t really know what to say. My main identity is that I’m a student, so all interactions naturally lead to this conversation. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it?