When we think of math, we think of numbers. I guess that this concept is what normally is in our mind. We grew up thinking that math deals with numbers and only numbers. But can there be more to mathematics that what meets the eye? Can there be more to mathematics than the numbers and equations that it manifests? And can there be more to mathematics than a mere subject in school?
Well in fact, the answer is yes. Mathematics is not restricted to the infinite numbers or numerous equations, or even to the four corners of the classrooms where we have learned so much about mathematics. In fact mathematics has a relation to everything, a relation that exceeds not only to the world but to its past, present and future as well.
And mathematics in relation to the world can be evidently seen in the third instalment of the British television series that outlines the history of mathematics, The Story of Maths, Marcus du Sautoy ventures on an adventure to help us see the movement of mathematics from being part of the East to being an engine house of mathematical ideas in Europe. In this segment entitled “The Frontiers of Space”, Du Sautoy documents the discoveries that made Europe the new powerhouse of mathematics. Here Du Sautoy covers how the majestic mathematical boost in the East has ended. After their golden years of discoveries, Europe was now stepping forward, replacing the Middle East as the engine house of mathematical ideas. (Wikipedia, 2013)
Du Sautoy first tackled about the renaissance artist in Europe, especially in Italy, where masterpieces were not only of art but also masterpieces of mathematics. A famous mathematician and artist, Piero della Francesca caused a mathematical revolution by introducing the concept of perspective. This is seen in how Piero used mathematics to create depth in a two dimensional surface of a canvass.
Du Sautoy then proceeds to Rene Descartes of France, whose discovery to link algebra and geometry unlocked the possibilities of looking at secrets that would help future mathematicians and physicists. Du Sautoy also talks about Pierre de Fermat invention of modern number theory, and that his contributions is now used as the basis for codes that protects our credit card transactions on the internet. (Wikipedia, 2013)
After these, Britain boomed into the mathematical picture. It was currently Britain, the new world power, which gave boost to mathematics. One of the most famous British who influenced the boost of mathematics was Sir Isaac Newton. His development of maths and physics was crucial to understanding the behaviour of moving objects in engineering, therefore giving us a glimpse of how to describe and understand the moving world we are in.
Du Sautoy also covers the Leibniz and Newton calculus controversy, the Bernoulli family, Leonhard Euler. He also mentions Gauss, whose mathematics touched many parts of the world. One of which was the invention of a new way of handling equations, modular arithmetic. Aside from this, Gauss also created new direction of numbers through the contribution of understanding of how prime numbers are distributed, and this in turn provided platform for Reimanns’s theories on prime numbers. (Wikipedia, 2013)
What is evident in this third series is not only the discoveries made by the European counterpart, but on how amazing mathematics really is. Through their discoveries we can see the relation that mathematics holds to the world. We can see the relation it has to our past, our present and to some extent our future.
Mathematical relation to the world’s past. Through the radical discoveries contributed by these people, we can trace mathematics back to our history. Even to the extent that the technologies that we greatly depend upon today were in fact just mere scribbling of mathematicians in the 17th century. Mathematicians before saw mathematics as either a hobby or a way of life. They scribbled problems, ideas, and imagination in their parchments hoping to prove and make sense of patterns. They saw mathematics in all different areas of life such as art, where masterpieces of arts became masterpieces of mathematics. To them, the world was a reflection of a much more amazing mathematical world. It really is amazing that a rich history was contained from the scribbling of the 17th century, and that these scribbling would be the one to paint the present and the future of mathematics and of us.
Mathematical relation to the world’s present. The past paints the future. That is universally accepted truth. And we should be thankful for the creative minds, the vast imagination and the perseverance of mathematicians before for they were the ones responsible for bringing mathematics into the modern day mathematics we have today. We are dependent on so many things that actually was based on mathematics such as mentioned above, our credit card transactions online are protected by mathematics. Mathematics became a way for us to understand and make sense of the things we take for granted so much. It has become a way to describe and understand the changing world. Through the power of mathematics, we can understand the complex and ever changing world. We were able to solve equations that could not be solved any other way only because the result of mathematics is everywhere. For us, they no longer are mathematical fictions, rather they are mathematical facts.
Mathematical relation to the world’s future. The past paints the present and the present will color the future. The discoveries made in the past and used in the present have given us a new perspective to look at mathematics and the world. The past and the present gave us magnifying lenses to clearly see the world for what it really is. And these mathematical lenses can be used to explore what mathematics holds for us, to explore what the world holds for us and to explore what the futures holds for us. The past moulded our present. And because of these, we are able to see the world for what it really is and what it can become.
When we think of mathematics, we think of numbers or formulas or equations or the hardest subject we had faced since preschool. But the truth is that mathematics is not restricted to only those. Mathematics is much more than those. It lends itself to us, to our world and to our lives - whether it be past, present or future. Mathematics was, is and will always be a part of us. There is more to mathematics than meets the eye, we have to remember that mathematics lies hidden beneath our lives, our world and our journey for it was, is and will always be a part of us.
Reference: The Story of Maths. (2014, January 21). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 26, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Maths
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