“I
love math, it just doesn't love me back”- that’s what I usually say when I get
low scores in math tests and other areas in relation to it. Then I blame the
letters meddling with the numbers when I reached higher mathematics. What did I
miss? It’s like I woke up one day and found letters all over my usual 1+1=2
equations. Apparently, this sequence of learning dates back to the Egyptians
and progressed to the modern era from there. Before we get ahead of ourselves,
how did it all start anyway?
The movie “story of maths”
revealed that like all other inventions, the mathematics originated from a
need. The earliest form of math arose from the need to know when the River of
Nile will flood next, calculated by the Egyptians. It was these bureaucratic
needs that made the Egyptians the first innovators of mathematics. Next came
the Babylonians who charted their calendar based on the course of the night
sky. This required them to calculate astronomically large numbers and thus zero
needed to be represented. Their numerical system also suggested they needed to
represent something without value which gave birth to what we now know as zero.
One thing about Babylonians, they were astonishingly fond with mathematics as
they used it even in their leisure. They developed board games, which I never
could call ‘bored games’ since their mind had to be racing because winning the
game required fast arithmetic and strategy. Later in time, the Greeks were very
particular with philosophy. And so, they developed the deductive system to cater
the need of proofs. This played a vital role in strengthening the foundations
of mathematics because the discoveries before are as true today as they had
been thousands of years ago. Perhaps one of the most famous mathematicians of
all time is Pythagoras who, aside from the celebrated theorem, was also
credited for the transformation of mathematics as a tool for counting to the analytic
subject we have today. Now we've actually got somebody to blame! Oops. Kidding aside,
what I have been blabbing about wasn't the whole story. It’s just the beginning
of a blissful journey which apparently is still going on.
Inevitably,
mathematics had to get harder than most can cope with, including yours truly.
It has started with a need that had to be addressed, and we just don’t run out
of needs. Or at least we know tricky ways to twist our wants into what sounds
to be a need. Looking at the big picture, mathematics had been playing a big
role in important innovations of today. Not a single invention of the modern
world will be hold true if it’s not quantitatively true. Mathematics has
provided us a method to prove our thoughts true and irrevocable. My words will
never be able to describe its importance and there won’t be a list that will be
long enough to enumerate its contributions to humanity. What we are able to
grasp though, is that no matter how mathematics got so complex, we wouldn't have had it any other way.
I've seen so many memes and posts about math like: "MATH - Mental Abuse To Human" YES. it might be seen by so many people in that. But way we can never deny the fact that math has been very helpful to us whenever, wherever -- just like what she mentioned in her post. I've also seen some parts of the movie and read some comments and some critics about it, and i must say that it somehow changed my point of view with regards to dealing with mathematics.
ReplyDeleteAn additional point: mathematics is not just simply teaching us in finding x and y but it also teaches us the essence of patience and perseverance in solving mathematical problems. :)))
Haha I agree with you Milce that we would not have what we have today if not because of the wonder of math. And with regards to the people who pioneered the development of math, we may jokingly say that they are the reason for the torments that Mathematics is giving us today but on a more serious note, Math would remain as simple as what it is before if not because of their patience and hardwork in understanding it and developing patterns to help us with the things that need math, be it of aesthetic value or mainly arithmetic.
ReplyDeleteMath doesn't like me either. Or it's me who doesn't like it. The point is, i totally agree with what you wrote bro! I do value math and its many applications that are highly beneficial to us. And the values of patience and perseverance being imparted.
ReplyDelete