Editor’s note: This essay was originally published on Medium on 2016-03-05. I have made minor edits in this republishing and added a few small retrospective notes. 2010–2011 (Year 0) I had just switched my major at Cal Poly State University from computer science to math. I wanted to double major but California was in a budget crisis and a few weeks before I tried submitting my double-major request the Provost for the CSU system put a blanket ban on double majors.
