A Key to Unlock the Mystery

                Mathematics, as what the greatest people says it holds the key in unlocking the mysteries of the world, and meaningfully contributes to our understanding of living beings. In Ian Stewart’s book entitled ‘The Mathematics of Life’, it gives an interesting impression on the fundamental recognized role of mathematics in pulling back the curtains on the hidden intricate of the globe and how will it affect more the years ahead.

              Stewart gives an explanation on how mathematicians and biologists have come to toil jointly on some of the most complicated scientific tribulations that the human beings has ever discussed, including the nature and origin of life itself. He sets the milieu through noting five great uprisings that have changed the way scientists think about life; the microscope, classification, evolution, genetics and the structure of DNA. But Stewart added the sixth is on its way and its mathematics.

               But it somehow came into my mind how this two challenging subjects relates to each other, I mean how mathematics would likely to affect and could be as a useful tool in biology. Stewart touches briefly on some of the many ways in which mathematics have sturdily connected to biology. Example of which comprises the number theory's contributions to Mendel, the game theory applied to interspecies opposition, symmetry breaking insight and pattern configuration, pandemonium theory to explain the mystery posed by the gigantic variety of species in plankton exploiting a single environmental alcove, the n-dimensional geometry to predict viral structures, neural networks, and knot theory applied to biochemical dynamics.

                In my own perception, at first you would likely say that you’ve made a mistake in reading this book and perhaps your mind says something like you doesn’t want to make a review out of this complicated book. On its first few pages, it reminds you of the past lessons in biology like those microscope stuffs, structure of DNA, how cells work and etc. and eventually makes you feel sick absorbing all those things. I recommend that the author would somehow discuss his thoughts in a brief and simple manner in a way everyone, most especially teens like me would easily comprehend such things. I must say that this book can be an inspiration for the young ones particularly those who are good in both fields of endeavor, mathematics and biology, this could be a useful tool in reaching the word success. Well as what Stewart (2010) says, “Mathematical models will apply within some range of validity, but it’s not sensible to expect them to apply everywhere”. Mathematics indeed affects life and will discover more great things in the upcoming years.