On Computing and Communing Mathematics, with its cold, callous figures and dull, dreary calculations, has always been a subject students find hard to appreciate. Often, they feel alienated from its seemingly mechanical nature and taxing, repetitive worksheets. Unbeknownst to them, though, is the role math plays beyond trivial classroom examples. Unbeknownst to them is the fact that mathematics is more than uantifying objects and crunching numbers! it is the ver y language of the universe itself. "rom counting apples in a basket to explaining how heavenly bodies orbit one another, mathematics#the mathematics#the study of numbers, patterns, and change#deals with everything from the mundane to the sublime. $t is the bedrock of all science, of humanity%s endeavor endeavor to make sense of the world. "riedrich &auss, a &erman mathematician, asserts that it is the '(ueen of the )ciences* who 'condescend ' condescends s to render service to other natural sciences* +td. in altershausen -/. ithout a doubt, math provides the tools necessary for data collection and uantitative analysis upon which the scientific method rests on. 0conomists use mathematical models to predict trends in the market, biologists use similar methods to compute a population%s growth, and physicists apply various formulae to calculate for force, impulse, energy, and the like. 1he scope of mathematics does not simply end at serving other sciences, though. Math is applied in fields fi elds such as business, engineering, and architecture. 2etermining the pricing of products, the integrity of a structure, and even the aesthetics of a building all reuire r euire a solid understanding of mathematical concepts. 3rtists and musicians also use use math in their works, albeit, most of the time, unknowingly. unknowingly. 4alance, symmetry, and proportion are ideas shared by art and math alike while ratios in freuencies is observed in the division of notes in the musical scales across different cultures. $n Starry Night , turbulence, a type of fluid flow that remains nebulous to both math and physics, is captured in the impressionist swirls of 5an &ogh%s stars +)t. Clair, Unexpected Math/. Math/. On the other hand, in 6eonardo da 5inci%s Vitruvian Man and Man and Mo7art%s Sonata n. 1 in C Major the the golden ratio is found.
0ven nature is a mathematician. 4ees optimi7e the space in their hives by making hexagonal honeycombs as flowers follow the "ibonacci seuence to maximi7e their number of petals. )imilarly, pine cones and sunflowers make use of the golden angle, derived from the golden ratio, as a way of fitting in as much rows of seeds as possible. Math can also be seen in the locomotion of animals. 1he rhythm of a horse galloping on a racetrack, the agile motions of a sidewinder traversing the dessert, and the pulsating bell of a jellyfish floating in the sea are all examples of nature%s fine8tuned locomotive processes. 0ach muscle works i n synchronicity, following a distinct, innate mathematical pattern that allow these animals to thrive in their environments. 6ikewise, a sense of time and, conseuently, of math dictate the internal rhythm and metabolic processes of all l iving beings. "urthermore, math can be seen in nature%s fractals, patterns that never end but, instead, repeat in smaller and smaller iterations. )nowflakes exhibit fractals as each arm of ice crystals contain numerous more arms that contain even more. Clouds, too, are fractal in design with each spiral wisp giving rise to more wisps. 0ven the physical laws that govern nature are grounded in math. 1he speed limit of light, the transfer of heat, and the interaction of forces are just some of the many unbreakable principles of the universe that can be simplified into elegant mathematical formulae. 1he properties of elementary particles themselves, the fundamental building blocks of creation, can all be reduced to the values of their charge and spin. 1his has led some to hypothesi7e that reality is purely mathematical +1egmark/. Math, having given man the ability to generali7e universal truths, has also allowed him to peer into the future. ith probability, statistics, game theory, and mathematical modeling, humanity has the power to foretell the outcome of an event by finding patterns in mathematical data. 1hus, to read numbers is to read the hereafter. 1his has extraordinary implications in decision8making9 now, with math, man can anticipate a mistake before he makes it. 1he universe speaks mathematics. $t tells its secrets through the rhythms and patterns of creation. :o matter what field, no matter what speciali7ation, man uses math, not to merely compute, but to commune with the totality of the natural world.
orks Cited 1egmark, Max. Our Mathematical Universe: My uest !or the Ultimate Nature o! "eality . :ew ;ork9 3lfred 3. ?@. Arint. #he Unexpected Math $ehind Van %ogh&s 'Starry Night' ( Natalya St. Clair . 4y :atalya )t. Clair. )ou#u$e. 10280d, @> Oct. =>?B. eb. @ "eb. =>?. )tewart, $an. Nature&s Num$ers: #he Unreal "eality o! Mathematical *magination. :ew ;ork9 4asic, ?D. Arint. altershausen, olfgang )artorious von. %auss +um %ed,chtniss. 6eip7ig9 5erlag 5on ). Eer7el, ?FD. Arint.
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