Essay on why maths is interesting
Answers
In the introduction, the author makes the case that mathematics is a misunderstood art form, where the medium is imaginary objects (such as numbers and the patterns they form), instead of paint or marble. It’s not science, since it doesn’t try to understand reality, bur rather made-up things, like triangles and curves. It’s not engineering, since the focus is not on making something useful. Any practical benefit that arises from doing math is just an added bonus.
With this mindset, the author then goes on to decry, in a rather entertaining way, the horrendous state of math education. 2 In short, the system is focused on all the wrong things (notations, definitions, formalisms) and none of the right things (natural curiosity, intuition, elegance, context).
So, while sir Ken Robinson was completely right when he said that schools kill creativity, in the case of math, the education system did such a good job, for such a long time, that the common wisdom is that there isn’t any creativity in mathematics to begin with. Or that you have to be a genius to enjoy doing math.
Before reading this essay, I had this vague guilt for completely losing interest in math in high school (and, consequently, barely making it through the math courses in college). I think I can relax about it now. I would still like to learn, but not because “I might need it someday” and not even because it might make me a better programmer. Just because it might be fun.
Use in kitchen – While preparing food, we always
measure the different ingredients so as to cook the desired quantity
only. This is possible only because of the mathematics. If we were not
aware of the numbers, it would not have been possible to measure, make
adjustments and cook tasty food. So you can say that our day begins with
the concept of maths.
Shopping – When going for shopping, we prepare a list of items we
require, calculate the amount of money needed for it etc. All this
calculation is based on numbers which come from mathematics. Without the
numbers, you cannot decide how much you need to pay to the vendor and
how much you have saved. So in the case of shopping too, you are
surrounded by the world of mathematics.
In the field of banking – This is the sector where a number of concepts of mathematics are applied and therefore the experts need to have a good understanding and command of the subject. Handling the transactions of the bank is not simple and you need to have some knowledge of mathematics in order to maintain your account, deposit and withdraw money etc. If you wish to take a loan, you need to have an idea about the interest you will have to pay and what will be the monthly premium that you would need to pay. In short, the banking sector is completely related to maths and so even the customers need to be familiar with it.
Traveling – Everyone loves to travel but there is a lot more to it than the enjoyment. While planning your vacation, you not only have to decide the place where you wish to go but book your hotel, tickets etc. All this requires budget planning and a sense of understanding of mathematics so that you can accomplish the different tasks successfully. From the traveling distance to its cost, bus tickets, hiring cabs etc all requires maths.
Thus from the above examples, you might have got a clear idea that there is no such area where the concept of mathematics is not used. You just cannot do without this subject and that is why it is essential to keep your basics right to perform the everyday activities of life. So have fun with the number and enjoy.
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