Math+as+an+AOK


 * Math as an AOK **

//How big is the moon compared to other moons?// There are only three moons of the 100 plus moons in the solar system that are larger than ours. //How many craters are on the moon?// There are 300,000 craters approx. that are larger than 1km in diameter on the moon. //How many moons can fill an Earth?// 49 spherical moons can fit into a hollow Earth.
 * Knowing the moon through mathematics**

"The mark of a civilized man is the ability to look at a column of numbers and weep." Berterand Russell, 1872-1970 Here, Russell states that a truly 'civilized' man is one who is able to decipher numbers and to realize the weight they carry. I believe this definition can be extended to a man who is able. For example, when the number '3000' appears on one's screen while they're watching the news, a civilized man, in Russell's opinion, will realize the significance of 3000 people killed or 3000 tons of oil while a less civilized man may not be able to visualize and understand the numbers.
 * Math Quotes**

"Mathematics is the abstract key with turns the lock of the physical universe." John Polkinghorne, 1930 **-** What Polkinghorne is saying is that all of the physical realm relies on mathematics while mathematics itself is not physical. He is linking the physical universe to a locked door - to open it, we must use mathematics. This quote best represents my own beliefs as I strongly agree on both of his points; mathematics is not physical and mathematics is the secret to understanding our universe.

To speak freely, I am convinced that it (mathematics) is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other..." René Descartes, 1596-1650 Descartes' meaning, I believe, is manifest; in comparison to other methods of conveying or understanding knowledge, mathematics is undoubtedly the best. In my estimations, this may be true when one understands its complex and intricate mechanisms, however, whenever a layman is in need of understanding, I highly doubt that mathematics is the best way to go.

I am of the opinion that mathematics does not aid people but hinders them in their pursuit of knowledge. Mathematics is a language that tries to translate the physical realm into the abstract. This act, aside from being paradoxical and tedious, is completely unnecessary. When does mankind need to understand the physical realm on a theoretical scale? Just as it is possible to calculate how far I’m going to have to walk to get to school, I could just walk to school and stop when I get there. As stated previously, mathematics is a language and as any language it is affected by the personal views of the person using it. This means that there are many different ways of approaching math and many different interpretations of tht Mathematics itself also carries many faults. Firstly, mathematical proofs are obtained from deductive and inductive reasoning, which as we know can occasionally be fallacious. Mathematics is mostly built on presumptions and assumptions. For example, set theory, the very basis of many mathematical theories is one that is itself to a large extent based on presumptions.

Dear , I am writing to you today in displeasure after having read your recent article ‘An Overview of the History of Mathematics’. Though the greater part of this article is informative and enlightening, I cannot help but be alarmed by the introduction. “Mathematics starts with counting,” start Conner and Robertson. Already, I am bounding to my writing desk to right their barbaric wrong. Mathematics, dear St. Andrews, starts with realization. The moment that you realize the things exist in numbers, the moment that you realize that everything around you is made of shapes, these are the moments in which you have transcended your primordial goo and become your own prokaryotic cell. This does not mean, however, that I believe that Mathematics does not incorporate counting. It simply means that to start counting you need to evolve into something more complex like, for example, a slime mould. For the sake of my nerves, I wish my vexation and the authors’ fallacies had stopped here but what I found as I read on was increasingly erroneous. The authors inform the reader that mathematics only starts when numbers are recorded. This, to spread my metaphor out quite thinly, is comparable to saying that evolution only starts once the arctic hare in particular is in existence. Do the authors truly wish to tell us that math is only math if it is recorded? If this is in fact their intention, I will not be the one to tell Priyanshi Somani, the winner of the Mental Calculation World Cup in 2010. Nor will I tell my young cousin who is able to add two and two without counting her fingers anymore.

Technology has affected the nature and practice of mathematics in such a way that it disables us to have the ability to do any sort of mental math, develop our radical thinking and exercise our brains. Developments such as calculators, computers and the applications used, do all the thinking for us where we just sit around, type what we want and wait for an answer. It has affected the practice of mathematics as we are not able to understand fully the methods and techniques used because we are all dependent on a calculator to do everything for us. It can be seen that students nowadays are more dependent on the calculator to do the calculations for them, instead of them broadening their abilities and developing their understanding. Technology also doesn't affect the nature and practice of mathematics in some ways, some would argue, because when we apply complex methods and formulas, we need to know most by heart and learn when to apply them and how. This part of math, technology cannot help us with, although it is used to obtain a final answer, but it's not used in the process of writing and solving the formula or equation. An example would be trying to see which formula, Un = U1 r^n-1 or Un = n/2 (U1 + (n-1) d) to use, to find the amount of terms in a sequence. You would have to use a calculator eventually to obtain the final answer, but technology would not be able to interfere with applying the method, rearranging the formula and simplifying it down. This all has to be done mentally. It depends which way you look at it. There is always two sides to a story, and usually one case would seem more reasonable than the other, although in this case it seems that both cases can work out perfectly, if applied to the correct situation.
 * How have technological innovations, such as developments in computing, affected the nature and practice of mathematics?**