My Mission:
Turning Mathematical Barriers into Intuitive Bridges
My name is Mark Newman and I have an admission to make: I have always found mathematics really hard!
Even today, as a qualified engineer, I have to work incredibly hard to grasp mathematical concepts. You might wonder why I chose to pursue an electronics degree in the first place, but for me, the answer was simple: I love to create. Whether it's composing music or designing a circuit, I thrive on using rules to bring something new into existence.
My journey didn't start with a breakthrough; it started with a failure. Some 30 years ago, as a second-year electronics engineering student, I was about to begin a new course module whose title filled me with excitement. I walked into the first lecture of a subject called: "Signals and Systems." With a background in music and a passion for TV production, I wanted to understand the "magic" behind the technology I loved.
Instead, within 45 minutes, that excitement vanished. The professor dove straight into a sea of complex equations, treating advanced concepts as basic intuition and skipping the physical reality of the subject entirely. I felt sidelined by abstract theory and, ultimately, I failed the course!
A New Vision for Engineering Math
Years later, while working in R&D on life-critical medical devices, I was forced to confront the very math that had eluded me. I realized that to succeed, I had to stop treating math as an incomprehensible language and start treating it as what it truly is: a set of rules to build with.
Everything changed when I learned to visualize those rules:
- Equations became graphs
- Complex numbers became coordinates on a map.
- Convolution became the tangible sound of one audio signal blending into another.
By grounding abstract concepts in physical reality, I moved from blind calculation to a deep, instinctive understanding of how these systems actually behave.
The Signals and Systems Academy
I believe the best way to truly master a subject is to try and teach it. I founded the Signals and Systems Academy to share this new vision with an audience of creators, engineers, and students.
My mission is to ensure that no-one ever feels sidelined by mathematical theory. By using video to project my intuitive, visual approach to the world, I aim to turn a barrier into a bridge. I want to give you the keys to unlock the world-changing ideas currently imprisoned in your head, making sure the equations are the bridge, not the barrier.
