Does thinking about mathematics terrify you? Evoke images of board after board filled with a seething mass of meaningless scrawlings? Or does it simply not pique even the tiniest morsel of interest for you in your busy life, which is devoid of any necessity for mathematics?

Mathematics

Many people would answer yes to some of these questions — a trend that I find worrying. Perhaps more disturbing is the increasing propensity for people to consider a lack of respect for or knowledge of mathematics to be some kind of badge of honour — it’s cool to be bad at maths, and who really needs it anyway?

Mathematics seems to have trouble establishing itself as a respected field of knowledge for the average person, with many considering it less important knowing our history or how to read and write, especially after one has learnt to perform basic arithmetic. Mathematics though is the one universal language — its myriad laws, formulae and concepts transcend geographical and political borders. Pi is Pi wherever you may be, and 1 + 1 will be the same in India as it is in Scotland. Mathematics is a language which describes, magnificently, the world around us and how its various components interact with each other — it allows us to make observations, comparisons, and predictions. It is the underlying structure of our world, and is far more than numbers and funny symbols — it is patterns, shapes, sizes, quantities, areas, probabilities, rates, trends and more. As we go through our daily routines, we are constantly — conciously and unconciously — engaging in mathematics.

If mathematics is so important, then why do so many people feel that they are bad at it? And, why do so many just not care if they are?

There are plenty of possible reasons — I had a bad teacher, it’s too hard, it’s boring, it’s not relevant. Some of these may be true for certain people in some cases, but overall they are myths or fears brought about by bad experiences with mathematics. As a teacher, I want to change this — I want to alter the pre-conceptions that mathematics is difficult, boring and irrelevant. I want to move beyond the realm of numbers and rules and laws and right and wrong, and get into the real stuff — solving problems, independent thought and exploration, and the fostering of an appreciation for the beauty of mathematics and its relation to the word around us. I want my students to engage in the discourse of mathematics, rather than simply doing sums. Knowing how to follow a process is one thing, knowing how and why the process exists is another concept entirely. For the research Master’s degree that I plan on doing next semester, one of the ideas I have had is the impact of blogging on the learning and teaching of mathematics — having students actively engage in the conceptual process of mathematics and reflect on their learning, rather than simply fulfilling tasks that a computer could do.

A lot would argue — I recall HSC subject selections at my secondary school — that we just don’t need all the ‘complicated’ mathematics after we have an understanding of the basic arithmetic needed for daily life. To those people,  I ask why we read great works of literature after we have learnt to read and write, or why we study the complex relationships between countries that caused the World Wars, after we have learnt that a couple of big battles happened a while ago and that’s why there’s a big march with old guys every year. Like english, history, or any area of knowledge, we study it for the sake of studying — in appreciation of the areas beauty and worth for its own sake. We also study for the process of studying — by engaging in as much mathematics as we can, we grow as humans. The process of doing mathematics of any kind builds skills in thinking logically and analytically, and problem solving techniques. Like learning about the Roman Empire, or the names of each part in a plant cell, perhaps we will never use that knowledge ever again. We will however, be better off for having learnt it.

What about those of us who are out of school? Who have already severed their ties with mathematics? Is there no hope of salvation?

Luckily, there is. It is never too late to re-engage with mathematics. Steven Strogatz, of the New York Times, writes a regular column aiming to re-introduce people to the world of mathematics, from the beginning. His first article, From Fish to Infinity, starts from the basics — explaining exactly what numbers are, and why we need them. Steven goes on in each article to explain more mathematical concepts, in plain english and in a much deeper way than you probably would have experienced at school. They’re a great read, and I highly recommend them. Here is a full listing of his articles, in order, so far:

So, what do you think — is there a place for mathematics in your life?