Originally Posted by
yzb25
When you understand an entirely new mathematical concept, it's the most amazing feeling. It's an intense headache, but it's like your head is being pryed open and something profound is being forced in.
The feeling of solving a math problem you've been trying to figure out for months, or suddenly making sense of something is an indescribable satisfaction. It's a catharsis comparable to sexual climax.
Granted, it can be pretty dry sometimes, but if you grind through the dryer parts it's very rewarding. Often the dry parts are only dry because you can't see the underlying meaning / significance, and things later click together.
Or at least, that's how it is for me. Obviously most people don't seem to get that kind of kick out of it.