Math has developed extensively over the past few centuries. Unlike sciences (such as anatomy, biology or chemistry) that are constantly changing and still confuse even the brightest of minds today, math has been consistent for hundreds of years. Although it can be said that the methods of using mathematics and the math was communicated has changed, this does not mean that the concepts were at any time different. So was math discovered or invited? Well to an obvious extent, math was both discovered and invented. However, I strongly believe that the math we use and know today exists all throughout nature, simply not in the same way we may think of it now. For example, a man made stop sign has 8 even sides and angles. In nature this may not exist …show more content…
However, it isn't really the math we are inventing, more so the theories and mathematical techniques that we invented. But these techniques would all cease to exist without the rudimentary knowledge of mathematics. If a first grader is shown a derivative, and explained in depth on the concept of derivatives, it will be impossible for the student to ever be successful in that type of mathematics due to the lack of basic mathematical concepts. Calculus consists of a couple steps of calculus, followed by a plethora of steps of algebra. This is where the line between discovered and invented begins to make itself a bit more transparent. As humans, we did invent calculus and further level math concepts, but as recently explained, these math concepts would not exist without the primitive knowledge of basic math. Essentially, the math we discovered is similar to the atoms of the periodic table, the compounds formed with those atoms are similar to what we consider higher level math that is not so easily found in …show more content…
As calculus was formed, there are example given that can exist only theoretically and not in nature. For example, imaginary numbers. These are numbers which do not exist in reality, only in theory, calculators omit them, and their quantity is irrelevant since the value does not truly exist outside of the theoretical world. In this sense, math had to have been invented at some point. We searched in nature for sequences and patterns and math in all ways possible, until there comes a time when we create our own number sequences derived from naturally occurring sequences which may lead to the production of new patterns that are no longer existent in the natural world. Now, if we take that man made creation (derived from nature) and make it a standard for the rest of the world, the world will then use this to create more sequences and patterns. Although the first sequence may have derived from nature, it does not exist in nature. It is here where we may begin to see that math may have been invented. But, as aforementioned, that standard sequences can not have ever existed without the discovery of naturally occurring sequences. Hence why I am a proponent of the theory that math was discovered and not entirely invented, only
Math is everywhere when most people first think of math or the word “Algebra,” they don’t get too excited. Many people say “Math sucks” or , “When are we ever going to use it in our lives.” The fact is math will be used in our lives quite frequently. For example, if we go watch a softball game all it is, is one giant math problem. Softball math can be used in many
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
Mathematics is used to pay bills and to cook to give a few examples. It is also used to figure out different formulas for space. Mathematics is used for computing
You can’t go to the grocery store and walk away without making at least one comparison, which, you learned in math all your life. Besides waking up in the morning, the first thing you do is get ready for the day. Believe it or not, you are using math as soon as you open your eyes, especially when getting ready. The first thing you do is look at the alarm which already has numbers on it, then you get in the shower and turn the water on and to run the shower you must use electricity. Even though you don’t think about using electricity and running, the water is controlled by numbers.
Many years ago humans discovered that with the use of mathematical calculations many things can be calculated in the world and even the universe. Mathematics consists of many different operations. The most important that is used by mathematicians, scientists and engineers is the derivative. Derivatives can help make calculations of anything with respect to another event or thing. Derivatives are mostly common when used with respect to time. This is a very important tool in this revolutionary world. With derivatives we can calculate the rate of change of anything with respect to time. This way we can have a sort of knowledge of upcoming events, and the different behaviors events can present. For example the population growth can be estimated applying derivatives. Not only population growth, but for example when dealing with plagues there can be certain control. An other example can be with diseases, taking all this events together a conclusion can be made.
The argument in this paper that even though the onus of the discovery of calculus lies with Isaac Newton, the credit goes to Leibniz for the simple fact that he was the one who published his works first. Appending to this is the fact that the calculus wars that ensue was merely and egotistic battle between humans succumbing to their bare primal instincts. To commence, a brief historical explanation must be given about both individuals prior to stating their cases.
The foundations of mathematics are strongly rooted in the history and way of life of the Egyptian people, dating back to the fourth millennium B.C. in Egypt. Egyptian mathematics was elementary. It was generally arrived at by trial and error as a way to obtain desired results. As such, early Egyptian mathematics were primarily arithmetic, with an emphasis on measurement, surveying, and calculation in geometry. The development of arithmetic and geometry grew out of the need to develop land and agriculture and engage in business and trade. Over time, historians have discovered records of such transactions in the form of Egyptian carvings known as hieroglyphs.
Mathematics is everywhere we look, so many things we encounter in our everyday lives have some form of mathematics involved. Mathematics the language of understanding the natural world (Tony Chan, 2009) and is useful to understand the world around us. The Oxford Dictionary defines mathematics as ‘the science of space, number, quantity, and arrangement, whose methods, involve logical reasoning and use of symbolic notation, and which includes geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and analysis of mathematical operations or calculations (Soanes et al, Concise Oxford Dictionary,
Historically speaking, ancient inventors of Greek origin, mathematicians such as Archimedes of Syracuse, and Antiphon the Sophist, were the first to discover the basic elements that translated into what we now understand and have formed into the mathematical branch called calculus. Archimedes used infinite sequences of triangular areas to calculate the area of a parabolic segment, as an example of summation of an infinite series. He also used the Method of Exhaustion, invented by Antiphon, to approximate the area of a circle, as an example of early integration.
Mathematics is part of our everyday life. Things you would not expect to involve math
Unlike geometry, algebra was not developed in Europe. Algebra was actually discovered (or developed) in the Arab countries along side geometry. Many mathematicians worked and developed the system of math to be known as the algebra of today. European countries did not obtain information on algebra until relatively later years of the 12th century. After algebra was discovered in Europe, mathematicians put the information to use in very remarkable ways. Also, algebraic and geometric ways of thinking were considered to be two separate parts of math and were not unified until the mid 17th century.
Science and Technology can be traced from the origin of human life 2 million years ago and each era has significant advancement. The earliest known form of S&T were human artefacts found during prehistoric time about 2.3 million years ago, they were roughly shaped stones used for chopping and scraping, found primarily in eastern Africa. Some of the earliest record of science came from Mesopotamian cultures around 400 BC, disease symptoms, chemical substances and astronomical observations were some of the evidence of emerging science. During the same period in the Nile Valley of Egypt information on the treatment of wounds and diseases and even some the mathematical calculations you are currently doing now in fifth form such as angles, rectangles, triangles and the volume of a portion of a pyramid have been around for thousands of years.
Ever wonder how scientists figure out how long it takes for the radiation from a nuclear weapon to decay? This dilemma can be solved by calculus, which helps determine the rate of decay of the radioactive material. Calculus can aid people in many everyday situations, such as deciding how much fencing is needed to encompass a designated area. Finding how gravity affects certain objects is how calculus aids people who study Physics. Mechanics find calculus useful to determine rates of flow of fluids in a car. Numerous developments in mathematics by Ancient Greeks to Europeans led to the discovery of integral calculus, which is still expanding. The first mathematicians came from Egypt, where they discovered the rule for the volume of a pyramid and approximation of the area of a circle. Later, Greeks made tremendous discoveries. Archimedes extended the method of inscribed and circumscribed figures by means of heuristic, which are rules that are specific to a given problem and can therefore help guide the search. These arguments involved parallel slices of figures and the laws of the lever, the idea of a surface as made up of lines. Finding areas and volumes of figures by using conic section (a circle, point, hyperbola, etc.) and weighing infinitely thin slices of figures, an idea used in integral calculus today was also a discovery of Archimedes. One of Archimedes's major crucial discoveries for integral calculus was a limit that allows the "slices" of a figure to be infinitely thin. Another Greek, Euclid, developed ideas supporting the theory of calculus, but the logic basis was not sustained since infinity and continuity weren't established yet (Boyer 47). His one mistake in finding a definite integral was that it is not found by the sums of an infinite number of points, lines, or surfaces but by the limit of an infinite sequence (Boyer 47). These early discoveries aided Newton and Leibniz in the development of calculus. In the 17th century, people from all over Europe made numerous mathematics discoveries in the integral calculus field. Johannes Kepler "anticipat(ed) results found… in the integral calculus" (Boyer 109) with his summations. For instance, in his Astronomia nova, he formed a summation similar to integral calculus dealing with sine and cosine. F. B. Cavalieri expanded on Johannes Kepler's work on measuring volumes. Also, he "investigate[d] areas under the curve" ("Calculus (mathematics)") with what he called "indivisible magnitudes.
The basic of mathematics was inherited by the Greeks and independent by the Greeks beg the major Greek progress in mathematics was from 300 BC to 200 AD. After this time progress continued in Islamic countries Unlike the Babylonians, the Egyptians did not develop fully their understanding of mathematics. Instead, they concerned themselves with practical applications of mathematics. Mathematics flourished in particular in Iran, Syria and India from 450B.C. Major progress in mathematics in Europe began again at the beginning of the 16th Century.
As mathematics has progressed, more and more relationships have ... ... middle of paper ... ... that fit those rules, which includes inventing additional rules and finding new connections between old rules. In conclusion, the nature of mathematics is very unique and as we have seen in can we applied everywhere in world. For example how do our street light work with mathematical instructions? Our daily life is full of mathematics, which also has many connections to nature.