Mathematics is a challenging subject, but of little practical use. Is this true?
395713
Don't think to mathematics as a school issue.\nYou are using a computer. You navigate the Internet, you play videogames, listen MP3, watch DVDs and use many other hi-tech toys in your everyday life. All this exists thanks to mathematics.\nElectronics, communication protocols, networking, gaming, DVD, CD, etc. But also cars, ships, trains, TV, finance, economics... The list is virtually infinite. If you think a little bit about it, you will see that your whole life is full of devices and comforts that are built on the basis of a mathematically structured vision of the world.\nThe Industrial Revolution have been made out of mathematics and physics. Without it, today we would still live in an agrarian society.
38182
Some people are good at math, while others are better at reading. Just depends on yuor strong points. \n\nHowever, that does not mean you can never learn it. It takes practice, like everything. I am not a strong math person either, but I have made it through 3 levels of calculus in one semester. \n\nYou might ask extra help from the teacher or get a tutor. For me, practice and one on one help is what helps me. It is not something that comes natural to everyone, but once you get the hang of it, algebra is not as hard as it may seem right now.
1136884
mathematics is a bais of other sciences . without mathematics we will not underestand physics. both physics and mathematics are basis of technology.
1182284
It's not that mathematics always works, it doesn't. You just study the part that has been shown to work, not the part where it fails.\n\nFor example, mathematicians spent years trying to solve the problem of squaring the circle. That is , given a circle, they wanted to be able to construct a square that had the same area as the circle (using compass and straightedge).  It can't be done. \n\nThey also spent years trying to find a method for trisecting angles. Again they failed because it can't be done. There are some angles that you can't trisect.\n\nSo for everything that you have studied that always works, there are dozens of things that you don't study because they are only true some of the time.\n\nOh, and in spite of all the fools who keep posting the "proof", 1= 0 is never true.
310227
Truth be told in my experience most engineers don't use calculus very often.  An understanding of calculus is required to find derivations for most formulas that are used.  But in practical application most problems are solved making assumption that simplfy problems to simple algebra.  One application used in practice is definte intergration ussually using a spreadsheet.
714947
Mathematics (colloquially, maths or math) is the body of knowledge centered on concepts such as quantity, structure, space, and change, and the academic discipline which studies them; Benjamin Peirce called it "the science that draws necessary conclusions"[1] . It evolved, through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, from counting, calculation, measurement, and the study of the shapes and motions of physical objects. Mathematicians explore such concepts, aiming to formulate new conjectures and establish their truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.[2]\n\nKnowledge and use of basic mathematics have always been an inherent and integral part of individual and group life. Refinements of the basic ideas are visible in ancient mathematical texts originating in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and ancient India, with increased rigour later introduced by the ancient Greeks. From this point on, the development continued in short bursts until the Renaissance period of the 16th century where mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries leading to an acceleration in understanding that continues to the present day.[3]\n\nToday, mathematics is used throughout the world in many fields, including science, engineering, medicine and economics. The application of mathematics to such fields, often dubbed applied mathematics, inspires and makes use of new mathematical discoveries and has sometimes led to the development of entirely new disciplines. Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics for its own sake without having any practical application in mind, although applications for what begins as pure mathematics are often discovered later on.\n\n\nHistory\nA quipu, a counting device used by the Inca.\nEnlarge\nA quipu, a counting device used by the Inca.\n\n    Main article: History of mathematics\n\nThe evolution of mathematics might be seen to be an ever-increasing series of abstractions, or alternatively an expansion of subject matter. The first abstraction was probably that of numbers. The realization that two apples and two oranges have something in common was a breakthrough in human thought. In addition to recognizing how to count physical objects, prehistoric peoples also recognized how to count abstract quantities, like time — days, seasons, years. Arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), naturally followed. Monolithic monuments testify to knowledge of geometry.\n\nFurther steps need writing or some other system for recording numbers such as tallies or the knotted strings called quipu used by the Inca empire to store numerical data. Numeral systems have been many and diverse.\n\nFrom the beginnings of recorded history, the major disciplines within mathematics arose out of the need to do calculations relating to taxation and commerce, to understand the relationships among numbers, to measure land, and to predict astronomical events. These needs can be roughly related to the broad subdivision of mathematics, into the studies of quantity, structure, space, and change.\n\nMathematics since has been much extended, and there has been a fruitful interaction between mathematics and science, to the benefit of both. Mathematical discoveries have been made throughout history and continue to be made today. According to Mikhail B. Sevryuk, in the January 2006 issue of the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, "The number of papers and books included in the Mathematical Reviews database since 1940 (the first year of operation of MR) is now more than 1.9 million, and more than 75 thousand items are added to the database each year. The overwhelming majority of works in this ocean contain new mathematical theorems and their proofs."
96834
Honestly - it is not.  The deal with math is that you have to take the time to work through problems so that you can see different applications of what you learn and get more experience solving them.  Like most things, practice makes perfect!
369278
Well, I think it's not interactive enough at all. It's very textbook oriented. There is not enough hands-on action for a student to really understand a concept through and through. It provides a good base, but not enough useful information or experience. I think Math is handled very well. Sciences and second languages are handled in an average manner. The teaching of English and Social Studies is lousy although the curriculum isn't that bad.
64878
Don't overlook the fact that numbers are entirely an artifice.  Mathematics is not a 'natural' science, such as physics.  It is a contrivance, a tool used to understand the physical world.
1012498
I think they do this because math is such a popular subject.  Users might have a more difficult time trying to find the mathematics category if it were not clearly stated in the science category.
1179595
It's a real "use-it-or-lose-it" skill, but most people find that their major problem in mathematics is a poor understanding of the basic ideas. And I do mean basic! Math is a harsh mistress, and those small 'easy' mistakes often trip people over more than larger problems! So take a crack at any problem areas you KNOW you have and stuff, stuff, stuff your brains with it!
89692
to make sure people like you don't get into college.\n\n---\n\nit's a nickname. my name could be GuitarBoy if I wanted, but I didn't, so there. and I was kidding. math wasn't "invented"; it was developed over many years.\n\nand yes, it is hard, I do alright in calculus, but it's still hard and it bugs me. I don't like it either.
110391
There are many practical applications for imaginary numbers. \n\nFirst, nothing in mathematics really EXISTS. Mathematics is just a way of creating a set of rules, then seeing what can be proven from those rules. Applied mathematics is a procedure where a subset of the material from pure mathematics is used to model something in which we are interested, which usually is something in the real world. \n\nIf the rules for manipulating things for imaginary numbers are useful, then that is a good thing. However, they are useful, because they let one solve a lot of problems easier than if we had to make more cumbersome manipulations without them. \n\nFor example, in any problem involving waves and frequencies, they are very useful, because of Euler's formula:\n\ne^(ix)=cos(x)+i sin(x)\n\nThis lets one manipulate trigonometric quantities easily in a compact form. \n\nAll of electrical engineering makes extensive use of this therefore, especially when power is involved, because AC is so prevalent. \n\nSolving many equations are far easier when imaginary numbers are used, even if the initial problem is all real, and so is the final answer. \n\nIntegrals that are used in all application areas are sometimes far more easily solved using complex integration. \n\nAll of quantum mechanics is deepy connected with imaginary numbers. The Schrodinger equation contains imaginary numbers. The answers are complex functions. Their modulus squared produces the real probability functions we use. \n\nImaginary numbers are used throughout physics. \n\n \nTo paraphrase a famous saying, the quickest way to real results is through the complex plane. \n\n(the real quote by Jacques Hadamard is more accurately translated as "The shortest path between two truths in the real domain passes through the complex domain.")\n\nThe more important question underlying this, is, why is mathematics so unreasonably effective at modelling things we are interested in? (see references).
632875
Mathematics is the queen of the sciences. It is also the handmaiden of the sciences. Every scientific and engineering feat depends upon that subject. That is why it is so important.
1087357
Math is used all the time in the engineering sciences.  Many physical phenomena, including fluid flow, heat transport, and diffusion can be described by appropriate partial differential equations.  In order to solve these equations and make predictions, you need to be good at calculus.\n\nIf you limit yourself to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, you would be stuck with linear models for everything.  This means that any more complicated relationship between two variables could not be modeled continuously, and you would never be able to extrapolate with any confidence.  Thus development of new technology would be strictly trial and error (and you wouldn't even have a good trial and error system without statistics).\n\nHang in there!  Get through that math.  You don't have to like it, but you will inevitably appreciate the developments that math has enabled.
644860
Lots of places, actually.  Algebraic number theory, Galois theory, linear algebra, discrete geometry, and other fields have shown tremendous usefulness in producing hard-to-break cryptography and digital signature schemes.\n\nAlgebraic geometry, abstract algebra, some real analysis, discrete geometry, linear algebra, Galois theory, and other fields are integral in the design of error correcting codes used currently in CDs, DVDs, satellite communications, your telephone and broadband lines, and many other places where reliable communication is needed.\n\nComputer science (I hope the applications of this are obvious!) essentially grew out of mathematical logic, with lots of influence from universal algebra and category theory.\n\nArtificial intelligence research also borrows heavily from several mathematical fields, most especially mathematical logic.  Though the true "thinking computer" is still science fiction, some of the results of this research is already used in word processors (including the dreaded "Clippy"!!!! but more useful places too), voice recognition software, automatic optimization algorithms for electronic circuit designs,  and other software, and don't forget the Roomba!\n\nAbstract analysis has solved many problems in fluid dynamics, with applications to aerodynamic design, electronic circuit design, Internet traffic management, and even road system design!  (Cars on the road behave a lot like fluid in pipes).\n\nLie algebras, tensor algebras, manifold theory, algebraic topology, systems theory, and several other abstract mathematical topics come into play with the General Theory of Relativity (GPS satellites take into account the General Theory of Relativity for their calculations--or else they would give badly inaccurate results!  Not only their motion, but the Earth's gravity has an effect on measuring time, which is essential to the process of geolocation) as well as quantum theory (which gave us the transistor, the laser, superconductors, and other current technology....and far more future technology) and very importantly, at least from an intellectual viewpoint, much progress on "how the universe works" fundamentally (we don't know for sure yet!).
95619
yes.As we know, mathematics plays an important role in our life. Plus, when we think about it, everything around us use mathematical theory. This proves that english can saves our soul. Without it, we may live in stoneage.