保羅·洛剋哈特（Paul Lockhart）在大概十四歲時對數學産生興趣（他特彆指齣，不是由於學校的數學課程），並開始大量的閱讀。大學上瞭一個學期，他就退學，以專心研究數學，同時靠編程和當小學老師維生。後來他與加州大學洛杉磯分校的數學傢恩斯特·施特勞斯（Ernst Strauss）閤作，一同發錶瞭多篇論文，並成為該校的研究生。1990年在哥倫比亞大學獲得博士學位後，他先後在加州大學伯剋利分校的數學科學研究中心（MSRI）和布朗大學任職，並在加州大學聖剋魯斯分校任教。他當時的主要研究方嚮是自守形式和丟番圖幾何。在高校教授數學多年後，他開始厭倦，決定迴去教小孩子。他在2000年加入紐約的獨立學校聖安妮學校（Saint Ann's School），並任教至今。

For seven years, Paul Lockhart's A Mathematician's Lament enjoyed a samizdat-style popularity in the mathematics underground, before demand prompted its 2009 publication to even wider applause and debate. An impassioned critique of K--12 mathematics education, it outlined how we shortchange students by introducing them to math the wrong way. Here Lockhart offers the positive side of the math education story by showing us how math should be done. Measurement offers a permanent solution to math phobia by introducing us to mathematics as an artful way of thinking and living. In conversational prose that conveys his passion for the subject, Lockhart makes mathematics accessible without oversimplifying. He makes no more attempt to hide the challenge of mathematics than he does to shield us from its beautiful intensity. Favoring plain English and pictures over jargon and formulas, he succeeds in making complex ideas about the mathematics of shape and motion intuitive and graspable. His elegant discussion of mathematical reasoning and themes in classical geometry offers proof of his conviction that mathematics illuminates art as much as science. Lockhart leads us into a universe where beautiful designs and patterns float through our minds and do surprising, miraculous things. As we turn our thoughts to symmetry, circles, cylinders, and cones, we begin to see that almost anyone can "do the math" in a way that brings emotional and aesthetic rewards. Measurement is an invitation to summon curiosity, courage, and creativity in order to experience firsthand the playful excitement of mathematical work.