If you carefully look around, the role of mathematics in human life becomes obvious. Computers, modern telephones and other equipment accompany us every day, and their creation is impossible without using the laws and calculations of a great science. However, the role of mathematics in the life of people and society is not limited to its similar application. Otherwise, for example, many artists could say with good conscience that the time devoted to solving problems and proving theorems in school was wasted. However, this is not so. Let's try to figure out what math is for.
Base
First you need to understand what mathematics is all about. Translated from ancient Greek, its very name means "science", "study". Mathematics is based on the operations of counting, measuring and describing the shapes of objects. This is the basis on which knowledge of structure, order and relationships is based. They are the essence of science. The properties of real objects in it are idealized and written in a formal language. This is how they are converted to mathematical objects. Some idealized properties become axioms (statements that do not require proof). Other true properties are then derived from them. So the mathematical model of a real existing object is formed.
Two sections
Mathematics can be divided into two complementary parts. Theoretical science is engaged in a deep analysis of intra-mathematical structures. Applied provides its models to other disciplines. Physics, chemistry and astronomy, engineering systems, forecasting and logic use the mathematical apparatus constantly. With its help, discoveries are made, patterns are discovered, events are predicted. In this sense, the importance of mathematics in human life cannot be overestimated.
The basis of professional activity
Without knowledge of the basic mathematical laws and the ability to use them in the modern world, it becomes very difficult to learn practically any profession. Not only financiers and accountants are dealing with numbers and operations with them. Without such knowledge, an astronomer cannot determine the distance to a star and the best time to observe it, and a molecular biologist cannot understand how to deal with a gene mutation. The engineer will not design a working alarm or video surveillance system, and the programmer will not find an approach to the operating system. Many of these and other professions without mathematics simply do not exist.
Humanitarian knowledge
However, the role of mathematics in the life of a person, for example, who has devoted himself to painting or literature, is not so obvious. Nevertheless, traces of the queen of sciences are also present in humanitarian knowledge.
It would seem that poetry is pure romance and inspiration; there is no place for analysis and calculation in it. However, it suffices to recall the poetic dimensions (iambic, trochee, amphibrach), as it comes to understanding that mathematics had a hand in this too. The rhythm, verbal or musical, is also described and calculated using the knowledge of this science.
For a writer or psychologist, such concepts as the reliability of information, an isolated case, generalization, and so on are often important. All of them are either directly mathematical, or are built on the basis of laws developed by the queen of sciences, exist thanks to her and her rules.
Psychology was born at the intersection of the humanities and the natural sciences. All its areas, even those that work exclusively with images, rely on observation, data analysis, their generalization and verification. It uses modeling, and forecasting, and statistical methods.
From school
Mathematics in our life is present not only in the process of mastering the profession and implementing the knowledge gained. One way or another, we use the queen of science at almost every moment in time. That is why mathematics begin to be taught early enough. Solving simple and complex tasks, the child does not just learn to add, subtract and multiply. He slowly, from the basics, comprehends the structure of the modern world. And this is not about technical progress or the ability to check change in a store. Mathematics forms some features of thinking and affects the attitude to the world.
The simplest, most complex, most important
Probably, everyone will remember at least one evening at homework when they wanted to howl desperately: “I don’t understand what math is for!” At school and even later, at the institute, the assurances of parents and teachers “later come in handy” seem annoying nonsense. However, they appear to be right.
It is mathematics, and then physics, that teaches us to find causal relationships, lays the habit of looking for the notorious “where the legs grow from”. Attention, concentration, willpower - they also train in the process of solving those very hated tasks. If we go further, then the ability to derive consequences from facts, to predict future events, as well as the habit of doing this , are also laid during the study of mathematical theories. Modeling, abstraction, deduction and induction - all these are the methods of the Queen of Sciences and at the same time the ways the brain works with information.
Psychology again
Often, it is mathematics that gives the child a revelation that adults are not omnipotent and not everyone knows. This happens when mom or dad at the request to help solve the problem only shrug their shoulders and declare their inability to do this. And the child himself is forced to look for the answer, make mistakes and look again. It also happens that parents simply refuse to help. “You must do it yourself,” they say. And they’re doing it right. After many hours of trying, the child will receive not just the homework done, but the ability to independently find solutions, detect and correct errors. And in this also lies the role of mathematics in human life.
Of course, independence, the ability to make decisions, answer for them, the lack of fear of mistakes are developed not only in the lessons of algebra and geometry. But these disciplines play a significant role in the process. Mathematics fosters qualities such as determination and activity. True, much depends on the teacher. Improper presentation of material, excessive rigor and pressure can, on the contrary, instill fear of difficulties and mistakes (first in the lessons, and then in life), unwillingness to express one’s opinion, passivity.
Math in everyday life
Adults after graduating from university or college do not stop solving math problems every day. How to catch a train? Can I cook dinner for ten guests from a kilogram of meat? How many calories are in the dish? How long does one light bulb last? These and many other questions are directly related to the queen of sciences and cannot be resolved without her. It turns out that the mathematics in our life is invisibly present almost constantly. And more often than not, we don’t even notice this.
Mathematics in the life of society and an individual person affects a huge number of areas. Some professions are inconceivable without it, many appeared only due to the development of its individual areas. Modern technological progress is closely associated with the complication and development of the mathematical apparatus. Computers and telephones, airplanes and spacecraft would never have appeared if people had not known the queen of sciences. However, the role of mathematics in human life is not limited to this. Science helps the child to master the world, teaches a more effective interaction with him, forms thinking and individual qualities of character. However, mathematics alone could not cope with such problems. As mentioned above, the supply of material and personality traits of the person who introduces the child to the world play a huge role.