The Questions of the East

           Mathematics is the catalyst of all developments. It bridges uncertainties and possibilities, ideas and inventions, and turns vagueness to clarity. It has grown from being the language of the universe to becoming today’s most important necessity. With a lack of knowledge on mathematics, you’d feel crippled, unable sway with the whirlpool-like advancement of this world.

           From the beauty that wraps the West, Prof. Marcus du Sautoy now highlighted the ingenuity of the Easterners that brought mathematics to a higher level.  In the Imperial China, he discovered that what triggered the advancement in mathematics was the creation of the Great Wall of China. In building it, the Chinese most desperately needed to know the distance and amount of materials to be used.  Along with this, they learned how to count using sticks, which is of close relevance to how we count today. But even if they already discovered the decimal place value system, the number zero still remained just as a blank space since their system of writing number had no need for it. What’s amazing is that the ancient Chinese people believed (or maybe up to now) that numbers have mystical powers. They believed on omens from numbers, and the luck or misfortune they carry.  They loved math so much that they even extracted entertainment out of it. Sudoku, which is one of my favorite pastimes, was actually derived from the ancient Chinese’s popular game of the Magic of Square.  It fascinates me how something so irresistible, mind-boggling and good came out from this thing (math) that I used to…not love.

 Have you ever thought that one of mathematics’ fortes is giving sexual pleasures? This is because the Emperor of the ancient China had used mathematics in finding a way to get the virginity out of 121 women within just 15 days. Yes, 121 women in 15 days.  Well, he was THE emperor. In our present generation, he might have been Edward Cullen of the Twilight series.  It was through this that Mathematical Progression was conceived. In a more decent way, mathematics was further developed when equations had been conceptualized and used in weighing or determining the mass of a produce, such as fruits. From this, the Chinese Remainder Theorem was established.

His obsession with mathematics had brought Marcus du Sautoy to the pavements of India. In there, he discovered the exceptional gift in mathematics of the Indians. The number system that they created was most likely the precursor of our current number system. Although it was not confirmed on whether the ancient Chinese had introduced it to them or if they unraveled it by themselves only, the Indians had clearly refined that number system into a more sophisticated yet convenient one: the Hindu-Arabic System. If the Chinese had neglected the value of zero, the Indians, on the other hand, had given a totally different perspective on it. They made Zero (0) as a number itself. Indeed, big things come from small ones. This is because zero had been born out of stones! When calculating using stones, the Indians realized that when you remove a stone from the sand, a circular shape or concave would be formed. And yes, this circular thing then became the mother of zero. Bhaskara I, an ancient Indian mathematician, had unraveled the wonder of Infinity.  By continuously dividing something, you will get smaller and smaller results. This made Bhaskara I conclude that 1/0=INFINITY.  Later on, dealing with debts had resulted to the emergence of negative numbers.

One of the remarkable contributions of Indians to the world of mathematics is the enrichment of Trigonometry. Using right triangles, they had formulated the concept of Sine Function. As a biologist, the strings of my heart were strung upon the knowledge that the Indians, given the level of technology and intelligence-stimulating factors they had back then, had come to explore the solar system only by using their very own Sine function. I actually find their level of living more appealing and free. It is because during their time, learning could come from any form, as wild as your imagination could be, and not be hindered by any rules or standards just like our way of formal education today. I guess the smarter and more advance the generations become, the lazier they turn out to be.

Anybody there who is head-over-heels in love with cubic equations? Because if you are, you might as well try to enroll in this course. This subject will tell you the secrets of cubic equations.  The misery of cubic equations had first disturbed Mr. Omar Khayyam. Omar Khayyam was not only a mathematician, but he was also a famous Persian poet.  Khayyam had dreamt of discovering the general formula that would solve all cubic equations. But unfortunately, he was unable to achieve his dream. It was only after 500 years that this dream had finally materialized. In Italy, Leonardo Fibonacci had discovered the new number system that was easily understood by common people.  Hindu-Arabic Number system had then overpowered the Roman Numerals. With his greater passion for math, another mathematical concept, the Fibonacci Sequence, was then formed. The idea of this new concept was derived when he was observing the mating pattern of rabbits. From the enticing Mathematics Computations to the death of a penniless mathematician, it is not surprising what people could do to fight for their desires.

       This video, entitled The Story of Maths: The Geniuses of the East had highlighted the great contributions that people from the East had done. This video proves that anybody from anywhere could raise questions that would unravel more humongous and untouched secrets in this universe. Remember, the questions don’t have to be grand; they just have to be good. J