## mathematics

What interests me more about maths is not its abstraction, which contributes to give this science a convoluted, not-for-everyone appearance. I don’t think the fact that “maths is everywhere” must necessarly attract students either, even though its practical applications are indeed innumerable and fascinating.

Above all, maths appears to me as a powerful instrument of self-knownledge, and a source of awareness of one’s own methods to face the outside world. Being a sort of “simplified” universe, with clear reference points and boundaries, maths can be of help with learning freedom and flexibility, with refining our creative potential, our concentration and simultaneous attention to small details and overall frame.

This perspective, I believe, should be taken into consideration even when strongly focused on results (i.e., exams and entry tests), since it makes the learning process more efficient and its effects durable.

## A logo, an identity, a story

##### The logo “Dfnu” is actually a non-sense. The mathematical symbol usually refers to the partial derivative with respect to a tensor component.

It was “invented” during one of many conversations I have with a dear friend of mine, while trying to discuss, at a very basic level, a topic we could hardly handle. We were having lunch at my place.

Is this possibly the most curious element? My home, and the street I live in, are somehow the “background scenario” of all my lectures, and they definitely (though accidentally) contribute to who I am and what I do.

## AAltrö

Biography of an altrö-ego
##### When he is not 100% concentrated on playing Jazz, he tries to help me in my mathematical explorations.
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT MY LESSONS

## reviews

Matteo is an excellent professor. He manages to make the lessons fun and rigorous at the same time. He has infinite patience and will explain the same thing over and over from different perspectives until you truly understand. Additionally, he goes out of his way to help you make progress. He is always available to rescue you if you are stuck with an exercise or to recommend extra resources! And last but not least, he is very kind and reliable. I strongly recommend his lessons. Do not hesitate to contact him!
Paula - Matteo is an excellent professor!
Matteo is a great Professor. I have been taking lessons with him for the preparation of the GRE/GMAT. He is outstanding in teaching both theoretical concepts and practical mathematical applications. His teaching methodology is very effective for gaining a deep understanding of Mathematics in an intuitive way rather than a mechanical way. He thrives to find ways to teach you a “strategy” that works around your way of thinking rather than giving you “one way” interpretation. Matteo is also very friendly and intellectually curious I highly recommend him.
Jasmine - preparation of the GRE/GMAT
First of all Matteo is a teacher that really wants you to understand, and by this learn what you are doing. He is a very patient teacher and does not seem to mind stretching himself for you to achieve what you aim for - he is always up for sending some extra exercises or help if you have any problems.
Matteo helped me go from a person not having much understanding of maths to someone that could feel confident when studying a function that before would look uninterpratable. After his lessons I will not only be able to pass my exam, but I will be able to use what I have learned (and now understood) in the future for other subjects and/or programs.
Jørgensen - very patient teacher
Comment on

### “Numbers and Functions” Robert Burn

An excellent demonstration that even a subject such as Mathematical Analysis, traditionally considered by students to be tough, can be taught in a rigourous and yet comprehensible way. The reader is invited to solve a sequence of problems, that bring him to an autonomous construction of the main definitions and theorems.

### “How Humans Learn to Think Mathematically” David Tall

This book describes the development of mathematical thinking in kids and adults. It was illumating, when I first read it, and it still comforts and encourages me in my most difficult moments as a teacher, and as a student

Ideas and exercises

## mathematical dialogues

26 July 2019
###### Feeling grilled?
Get pen and paper and draw a cartesian plane. Then draw, on it, a set of points with integer coordinates, such as $$A(1,1)$$, $$B(1,0)$$, $$C(2,0)$$, $$D(3,2)$$, and so forth... Connect in all&n...
10 July 2019
###### The bare necessities
This is the first of a series of posts in which a problem is presented to the reader, who in invited to solve it by following a proposed path. The background knowledge required is mostly that of a s...
9 July 2019
###### Rock and rolle
Continuing were we left on a previous post about non differentiable functions that however have a well defined right derivative, we want now to show that if the function is also continuous, then from...
6 July 2019
###### Ups and downs
We are given a function $$f(x)$$, for which the right derivative $f'_+(x) = \lim_{h\rightarrow 0^+}\frac{f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}$ is defined in $$\Bbb R$$. We also know that $$f'_+(x) \geq 0$$...
4 July 2019
###### Should you be hesitant, value the discriminant
The problem, presented in a previous post, of determining the point on a circumference that is closest to a given interior point $$P$$, changes radically if we consider an ellipse, instead of a circl...