Before ending up in Food
Technology, there were only two successful professions for me; either become a
doctor or an engineer. If you love trigonometry, algebra, calculus or just dealing
with numbers, become an engineer. If none of what I have mentioned earlier
sounded appealing to you, become a doctor. Basically, engineers love math and
doctors love biology. That’s why I always preferred becoming a doctor. Well mostly
because it’s a rewarding job but I have to admit, one of the MANY reasons was
because I thought I could avoid math. Going into medical school, all you had to
worry about was biology. And biology had nothing to do with math, right? Wrong.
In the book ‘The Mathematics of
Life’, Ian Stewart explains how Biology and Mathematics, two very different
fields, are interconnected. According to him there are six revolutions which
have changed the way scientists think about life: invention of the microscope,
classification of organisms, evolution, genetics, determination of the DNA
structure, and the sixth which he claims is Mathematics.
It is evident that math has played
a role in influencing the physical sciences, specifically physics. Conventionally,
its role in the life sciences has been seen as merely a tool to analyze data. Now,
this view is transforming as biologists are now seeing the purpose of mathematical
ideas in discoveries and understanding life concepts further.
Some evidences stated in the book which
show how biology and math are interconnected: formation of petals and leaves in plants
follow the Fibonacci sequence; spots and stripes of animals arose from the
reaction-diffusion process and these patterns resulted from mathematical rules;
genetics shows math at work by calculating probabilities of the resulting
characteristics of the offspring; mathematical models are able to explain why phenomena
occur; how the nervous system works is understood better by relating it to how
data is being transmitted through cables. Simply put, math aids in understanding
life better.
I have come to the realization that
learning about math and its application is inevitable. No matter what I do or
choose to study, I just can’t seem to escape from it. I am slowly realizing
that, though I am still not fond of math, it has done nothing but help in
bringing greater understanding.
Math is hard. Life is even more complicated. But
with the help of math, life can become much simpler.
Indeed. Which is why I finally understood when my grade school teacher told me that Math is everywhere. Truly, Math is the universal language of life.
ReplyDeleteI hope Math isn't making life so hard for you. I know you will learn to love Math. You can do it! :)
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ReplyDeleteThough not immediately obvious, Math is connected to and what connects us all. It can make simple things complex and the complex simple.
ReplyDeleteMath is the language of the universe.
Good luck with understanding Math! Everybody has had trouble with it at least once, but it's up to you how you deal with it :)
I disagree. joke. Hehe. well, I prefer math than bio. Anyway, they make a good tandem
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