We often ask ourselves the question “why do we study mathematics?” And to answer that question, all we have to do is look around us. More than once we have heard the phrase that mathematics is a land without borders. Although it is a commonplace phrase, there is a very good reason for it. Mathematics occupies a special place in human life. We are so attached to it that we do not even notice it.
But mathematics is where everything begins. The baby is just born, and the first numbers in his life are already sound: height, weight. The baby is growing up, can not articulate the word “math”, and is already engaged in it, solving small problems of counting toys, dice. Yes, and parents do not forget about the math and tasks. Cooking baby food, weighing it, they have to use math. After all, you need to solve elementary problems: how much food to cook for your baby, given its weight.
There are a lot of math problems to solve at school, and their complexity increases every year. They do not just teach a child math, certain actions. Mathematical problems develop thinking, logic, a set of skills: the ability to group objects, to reveal patterns, to determine the relationship between phenomena, to make decisions. Very often the solutions to such problems are just a mathematical calculation. Classes in mathematics, solving mathematical problems develops the personality, makes it more purposeful, active, independent. Remember at least one of his classmates, well versed in mathematics, was able to quickly solve problems. He was often called a clever, mathematician, “zadachnik. He was able to solve problems, he was able to argue his choice, and he was able to critically appraise himself and his classmates. And his grades in all other subjects, except mathematics, were way ahead of his classmates. It was precisely his mathematical thinking that helped him in this.
It would seem that after school mathematics was of no use anywhere. Alas! Here you have to use mathematics even more often. While studying at school, at work and at home, you have to constantly solve problems, and not just mathematical ones. What is the probability of successfully passing a math exam? How much money do I need to earn to buy an apartment? What is the area of the floor and walls that need to be painted and glued, how much paint and pieces of wallpaper do you need to buy? And that’s where math comes in to help. It follows man everywhere, helps him solve problems, makes his life much more comfortable.
The world and life itself are changing rapidly. New technologies are entering it. Only mathematics and problem solving in the traditional sense do not change. Mathematical laws are tested and systematized, so a person in important moments can rely on it, to solve any problem. Mathematics will not fail.
Mathematics is needed by all people in the world. Without mathematics, a person cannot solve, measure and count. Without mathematics, one cannot build a house, count the money in one’s pocket, or measure the distance. After all, if it weren’t for mathematics, we wouldn’t fly in airplanes, we wouldn’t talk on cell phones, we wouldn’t even ride in cars. Sometimes I think the world would simply collapse if it were deprived of mathematics! Of course, you would say that physicists, mechanics, engineers, and construction workers should take all the credit. But have you ever wondered how these very physicists and engineers manage their incredible achievements? Yes! Only with the help of mathematics. Mathematics by itself does not explore the outside world or create physical objects, but it is the basic tool for studying the world around us, and it is what makes technical progress possible. But mathematics is not only important, it is also extremely interesting!
In all the schools of the world, children are taught mathematics, because mathematics is the most important knowledge, which even before was respected and deified. That’s why we have to make friends with mathematics, too. “Mathematics puts the mind in order,” said Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.
The position of mathematics in the modern world is far from what it was a hundred or even just forty years ago. Mathematics has become an everyday tool of research in physics, astronomy, biology, engineering, industrial organization, and many other fields of theoretical and applied activity. Many major physicians, economists, and social scientists believe that the further progress of their disciplines is closely tied to a broader and fuller use of mathematical methods than has been the case to date. It was not for nothing that Greek scholars said that mathematics was the key to all the sciences.
Of course, the foregoing proves once again how important mathematics is not just in itself, but how other sciences need it, rely on mathematical facts, and thus help humanity to develop further and further!
Mathematics has always been an integral and essential part of human culture; it is the key to understanding the world around us, the basis of scientific and technological progress, and an important component of personal development.
We have already looked at many reasons why mathematics is considered to be not only one of the sciences, but the most important one. Let us now try to give some more facts to prove this. These are simple facts, which any human being has to deal with on a daily basis.
The role of mathematics in modern science is constantly increasing. This is due to the fact that, firstly, without a mathematical description of a number of phenomena of reality is difficult to hope for a deeper understanding and mastering them, and, secondly, the development of physics, linguistics, technical and some other sciences involves extensive use of the mathematical apparatus. Moreover, without the development and use of the latter it would have been impossible, for example, neither the exploration of space, nor the creation of electronic computers, which have found application in various fields of human activity.
Because mathematics is inherently general and abstract knowledge, it can and should in principle be used in all branches of science. Mathematics can be categorized as a universal science. The task of mathematics is to describe this or that process by means of some mathematical apparatus, that is, in a formal-logical way. Speaking of the subject and functions of mathematics, it is obvious that the integrating role of mathematics in modern science is becoming more and more tangible as it is a universal scientific discipline. The functions of mathematics are equally human in that they aim to improve the material and spiritual spheres of human existence.
The study of mathematics carries out the development of the student’s intellect, enriching it with methods of selection and analysis of information. The teaching of any section of mathematics has a beneficial effect on the mental development of students, as it imparts to them the skills of clear logical thinking, operating with clearly defined concepts.
At the same time fosters the qualities of character, without which it is impossible to master scientific theory, develops skills of independent research work, and finally fosters intellectual honesty, which does not allow to operate with dubious, not proven with all the necessary rigor of the facts. And this applies not only to solving mathematical problems, but also to other areas of human activity, including the analysis of phenomena of social and political life. Mathematics education is transformed from an external learning process in relation to the student into a cognitive process proper. Only the joint action of these polar principles and the struggle for their synthesis ensures the vitality, usefulness, and high value of mathematics.
Mathematics is an essential part of social life.
Students should treat mathematics with great interest, fascination and understanding of the necessity of mathematical knowledge, both for their future activities and for the life of human society.
The conventional wisdom is that mathematicians sit at their desks all day long, devising four-story formulas and using up a stack of paper in a day. What most people don’t realize is that they see the results of mathematicians’ work all around them on a daily basis. Without mathematics, neither architecture, nor engineering, nor even the design of traffic lights on busy highways is possible.
Mathematics is a very important science that applies in many areas of our lives, from household tasks to all sorts of matters at work. This science allows us to develop the flexibility of the mind, which is necessary to make an objective solution to any problem. This is not only a mathematical problem, but a variety of life situations that require consideration of “different angles”. To understand, cognize the essence of the problem, you need to consider it from all sides, which is possible thanks to the imagination.
It is well known that mathematics is never alone; it is always attached to something! This suggests that no other science can exist without mathematics. Consequently, if humanity had not created the world of mathematics, it could never have possessed science!
Mathematics has always been an integral and essential part of human culture; it is the key to understanding the world around us, the basis of scientific and technological progress.
