Maria Droujkova often begins her talks with an apology. She tells parents, educators and all those who’ve deemed themselves number-challenged that she’s sorry if they’ve been hurt by “meaningless math.”

People tell her about their math scars. One woman, an art teacher, said her she’s had math anxiety ever since the fourth grade when she struggled with timed tests and was placed in a remedial class. A college student who would fail math exams in high school now starts to hyperventilate upon seeing too many symbols in a problem.

Droujkova, a mathematics education consultant and curriculum developer, is trying to shift the narrative of math, which so many adult brains have brushed off as something that’s simply “not for me.” To do so, she must figure out the root of the issue: Why do we hate math?

“The story goes like this,” she writes in a recent Reddit AMA. “‘If kids don’t know multiplication facts, they will fail tests, which means they won’t get into college, which means no career, which means epic fail of the whole life. For want of a nail, the kingdom is lost.’ So people hate math because they learn it out of fear.'”

Because of the damage that’s been done, she created an approach called Natural Math, and has made it her mission to help people learn math for “meaningful, joyful, loving reasons.” That means introducing kids to math concepts at a young age—before they’re indoctrinated with curriculum and multiple choice questions and and grades. Droujkova believes that 5-year-olds can learn calculus (and no, this isn’t some Tiger Mom-esque boot camp we’re talking about). They can play with fractals in snowflake drawings, or explore integrals through Minecraft or Lego blocks. Other children’s activities are outlined in her book Moebius Noodles. She writes that it’s about telling stories, making art, and finding analogies that make math friendly.

Here are some highlights from her AMA.

On why so many people hate math.

On the point of learning higher-level math (for those who don’t end up becoming engineers).

Okay, but how do you explain this to kids?

On getting past the “Oh, I’m just bad at math” mindset that so many adults have.

On math activities that parents can do with their babies.

And even more:

On the types of calculus concepts that 5-year-olds can grasp.

But what about all those studies that say early academic training leads to long term harm?

What about adults? Are we doomed?

See the full discussion in the original AMA.