Why do we study Mathematics?


 Why do we study Mathematics?

Mathematics is useful…it is an essential part of our culture and education. We use it to understand the developments which are going on in the world around us. For example: consider the statistics and figures related to COVID-19. Many of the important world developments, which will also directly affect our daily lives, can only be understood through a grasp of mathematical principles linked with scientific investigation. Mathematics will also help you in such matters as interpreting social and economic experiences. For example: environmental problems can be qualified by statistics and graphs; the value of peace can be emphasized through the statistical analysis of the world’s arms expenditure or the awesome, destructive power of nuclear weapons; and the ability to the keep an accurate account of your own income and expenses can help you grow habits of benevolence, thrift, self-reliance, conservation of resources, and economic efficiency.

Mathematics disciplines the mind…it will exercise, discipline, and invigorate your brain. We use it to form sound reasoning skills - this one skill is much more valuable than being an expert mathematician. Mathematics is done because of the great amount of practice it provides your mind; think of it as a sort of mental jogging to build up the mind and keep it fit, or the barbells and skipping ropes workout for your mind. Mathematics promotes self-discipline, sound work habits, the capacity to work independently, and the development of problem-solving skills and strategies. Remember that every mistake, every fault, and every difficulty conquered - becomes a stepping-stone to better and higher things.  It is through these types of experiences that we achieve success.

Mathematics is beautiful…it is filled with ideas that are fascinating. Mathematics is an art, it’s beauty can be seen in order and harmony.  As you will learn, the mathematician tries to express a maximum number of ideas and relations with the least excess or waste as possible, and beauty can be found where chaos of isolated facts is transformed into a logical order.  Mathematics is also a study of patterns and regularity of forms or ideas. For example: radio waves, molecular structures, and orbits of celestial bodies all have patterns that can be classified mathematically. Even many studies of the human body itself involve the golden ratio.  For example: the ratio of the distance from your navel to the floor, or the ratio of your arm length to shoulder width, along with many others approximate the golden ratio, as do the Pyramids of Giza and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Mathematics gives insights into God's creation… in it, we find the ultimate truth about the structure and design of the universe.  Through mathematics, we can establish that the universe is mathematically designed, that it is controlled, lawful, and that it is intelligible to mankind. This can be seen over and over again in the hexagons of snowflakes; the crystal structures of minerals; the hexagonal prisms of the honeycomb; the spirals of the nautilus shell, the sunflower, spiral galaxies, elephants' tusks, horns of wild sheep, canaries' claws, and the spines of a pine cone. It is in the common geometric forms such as squares, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons that we find the building blocks that God used in creating many things. And so it has been said that God is a mathematician of a very high order, and He used very advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.  Our feeble attempts at mathematics enable us to understand a bit of the universe, and as we proceed to develop higher and higher mathematics, we can hope to understand the universe better.  The study of mathematics seems to point to the changelessness of God.  It reveals the wisdom of God, and that He is a God of order and systems.

This article is a paraphrased and condensed version of the paper 'Integrating Christian Values and Learning in the Teaching of Mathematics' written by E.M Role.


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