One of the first things that you hear from a child that starts school is

the question why math is so important. As soon as things go past the mere
adding and subtracting, the children start asking what the point of math is
and why it matters. You can often hear adults asking the same question,
always doubting that math is important and always wondering what it is that
makes math so crucial for human development. Well, the answer is quite
simple, although it can use a bit of elaboration. The answer is that
mathematics is the backbone of all science and that without math; we would
not have any other exact sciences. Mathematics is often defined as the study
of quantity, magnitude, and relations of numbers or symbols. It embraces
the subjects of arithmetic, geometry, algebra, calculus, probability, statistics,
and many other special areas of research. But do we really need
mathematics in our real life? Are calculus and other complex branches of
mathematics really necessary?
Come to think of it, why do students have common ideas regarding math?
Why is it almost all, see math as hard, difficult and complex subject? In
student's everyday life, math blends with their mind and activities, with their
soul and actions. Math is the powerful thing that spices up our life. It is
simply the powerful spice that thrills and tricks human beings. Math simply
let people enjoy the wonderful world of imagination, thinking and philosophy.
What is Mathematics? Mathematics may be described as the fundamental
science. It may be broadly described as the science of space, time and
number. Mathematics is an indispensable subject of study. It plays an

important role in forming the basis of all other sciences which deal with the
material substance of space and time.
And this is not just saying it for the purposes of this article. The truth is that
without mathematics, it would be absolutely impossible to have physics, to
have chemistry, to have modern medicine or to have economics as the
backbone of the modern world. Without knowledge of mathematics, none of
these sciences would exist both because there would be no way in which to
represent the ideas that lead to practical solutions and also because it would
be impossible to work out those ideas and to check whether they have
anything to do with reality or whether they are just wishful thinking. And this
is just the basic way in which math shapes other sciences.
Mathematics involves the study of number patterns and relationships, too. It
is also a way to communicate ideas, and perhaps more than anything, it is a
way of reasoning that is unique to human beings. Mathematics is divided into
pure

or

theoretical

mathematics,

and

applied

mathematics.

Applied

mathematicians focus on how to apply mathematical principles to questions

people have about the world around them and other practical problems. It is
the study of relationships between numbers, between spatial configurations,
and abstract structures.
Once I reached high school, I discovered the joys of algebra. One of the very
useful branches of mathematics is Algebra. Originally, it was no more than
generalized arithmetic. Arithmetic deals with numbers, which may be divided

into real numbers and complex numbers. Mathematics plays a vital role in
the modernization of this civilization. It is everywhere and affects the
everyday lives of people. Although it is abstract and theoretical knowledge, it
emerges from the real world. Mathematics is one of the essential and basic
areas of the college curriculum which has a wide field of subject matter. In
education, mathematics plays an important role. I think my experience with
math growing up will greatly influence me as a student. Once I got to college
I realized that there wasnt anything wrong with me, I was capable of
learning math, I just needed a change in environment and right explanation.
Although some students may pick up on the subject with great ease, other
students will need more time to reach the end goal.

Everyone learns

differently and thats ok. It is important to take a lesson and explain it in

different ways. However, it is important to know that not all children are
going to fit exactly within each developmental stage. It is the unconsciously
held delusion that mathematics is a set of rules and formulas that have been
worked out by God knows who for God knows why, and the student's duty is
to memorize all this stuff.
What is more important, mathematics is also about ideas that shape the
modern world. For instance, without mathematics, we would still be trapped
in the prehistoric times, seeing the world as something that just happens and
not as something that has its rules, that has its beginnings and that has
created a place for us as a race. Knowledge of mathematics is also what
separates us from other living beings and while there are some animals that

can count to a certain degree, it is our prerogative to be able to use

mathematics as a way of describing our world and as a way of trying to get a
hang of it all, to use the colloquial term.
Importance of Mathematics

Knowledge of Mathematics

is absolutely

necessary for the study of the physical sciences. Computation and

calculation are the bases of all studies that deal with matter in any form.
Even the physician who has to study biological cells and bacilli need to have
a knowledge of Mathematics, if he means to reduce the margin of error
which alone can make his diagnosis dependable.
To the mechanic and the engineer it is a constant guide and help, and
without exact knowledge of Mathematics, they cannot precede one step in
coming to grips with any complicated problem. Be it the airplane or the atom
bomb, radio-communication or nuclear power, anything that has to do with
anything concerning matter in any form, knowledge of the principles of
Mathematics is the one thing absolutely necessary. Of course, it goes without
saying that an elementary knowledge of the simplest branch of Mathematics,
arithmetic, is the daily requirement of every man and woman in the ordinary
affairs of life. Intellectual Value of Mathematics has a most important bearing
on the intellect as such. Study of Mathematics promotes habits of accuracy
and exactitude, and prevents a man from being careless and slipshod. It
sharpens the reasoning powers of a man and increases his mental alertness.

On the whole a mathematically minded man is usually more dependable

than one who is otherwise disposed. That is why the study of some
Mathematics is compulsory up to the secondary stage of all education
systems, and its habit has to be sedulously fostered.

For more than two

thousand years, mathematics has been a part of the human search for
understanding. Mathematical discoveries have come both from the attempt
to describe the natural world and from the desire to arrive at a form of
inescapable truth from careful reasoning. These remain fruitful and important
motivations for mathematical thinking, but in the last century mathematics
has been successfully applied to many other aspects of the human world:
voting trends in politics, the dating of ancient artifacts, the analysis of
automobile traffic patterns, and long-term strategies for the sustainable
harvest of deciduous forests, to mention a few. Today, mathematics as a
mode of thought and expression is more valuable than ever before. Learning
to think in mathematical terms is an essential part of becoming a liberally
educated person.
Without mathematics and people who cherished it and used it for good, we
would not have some basic inventions such as the steam engine, such as
nuclear power, or indeed any power whatsoever. The doctors and the
scientists would not have been able to develop medications that we are now
able to use perfectly safely without putting our lives in danger. Without
mathematics, we would still die at the age of 20-something, not being able to
cope with the basic cold.

In the modern age, the intensely abstract nature of pure Mathematics has
brought the science nearer to philosophy. Knowledge of Mathematics is
indispensable both for the man in the street as well as for scientists and
philosophers.
And these are just the foundations of modern life, with everything else built
on top of it having even more to do with mathematics, such as computer
technology and the entire modern age that we enjoy living in so much.
Mathematics is the core of what makes us human and it is at the very core of
our development as a race. In some very distant future, the chances are that
mathematics will be the only language that we will be able to use to contact
and communicate with some other intelligence in our universe. If this does
happen and if we do not put mathematics to use and exterminate ourselves
before this time comes.
References
http://www.importantindia.com/8083/short-essay-on-importance-ofmathematics/
http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/94554.html
http://mathtutorlab.com/the-importance-of-math-for-humandevelopment.html
http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/Importance-Of-Mathematics168120.html

Importance of Mathematics to
Humanity
2nd Semester 2015-2016
Name: Burdago, Arvin B.
Email Add: philburd17@gmail.com /
arvinburdago@yahoo.com