Christina Anagnos

When I was young and other kids asked me why I liked math so much, I said that I enjoyed the thrill of solving. That’s the thing about math, there are definite ends, there are definite solutions. There exists the possibility of completing something, and the satisfaction of having gotten there. What makes math often comforting, and surely unique, is that truths can be found. Granted, there are accepted theorems that are sometimes disproved, but in general, a whole bunch of methods and notions are correct, and virtually infallible. Not many things in life are like that. Opinion creeps into other genres of thought. In other realms, testing a theory is not often so simple; it takes time, maybe too much time for some historical, social, political, even scientific ideas to be assessed and tested. And even then, other factors surely pollute the assurance of your results.

The historical development of mathematics holds tremendous significance as well. It is remarkable how far ancient peoples came, the Greeks for example. And then, as history has progressed, more mathematical concepts have been discovered and changed. People have failed and tested and each action has contributed to the progress of finding the truth, of developing our understanding. The history of math is a fantastic representation of the ingenuity and intelligence of man.

Now, math might be criticized for its “lack of application.” And I am admittedly often one to make this claim. However, mathematical influence is essential to fueling the realms that do directly apply their methods. As math develops and improves, so too, do various methods in other realms that derive from math. The technology that fuels scientific tools of analysis, the information and possibilities within computers, our communicative capacities, and our economic calculations, for example, all stem from the contributions of mathematics. Its effects and influence are far from negligible.

The further fact is, math is hard. Maybe not in its more straightforward offspring: the numerical forms of algebra, geometry, and calculus, all of which include learnable methods and then repeated calculations. But as one progresses into the turmoil of proofs and principles, into the heart of mathematics, that’s where talent, practice, and extremely grating and thorough thought holds. That’s where my own past theory that anyone could learn how to be good at anything fails. I’ve found that it takes a particular ability to figure out such mathematical elements. One can build the capacity, practice and develop, but it remains an extreme struggle in some minds (such as mine). In a sense, having had the opportunity to swim into a small region of these waters not only humbles a person, but it instills a larger admiration for the mental capacities within so many minds that devote themselves to it, and who have struggled with it throughout history.

I, however, like my set methods, my learned processes and then applications. That’s as far as my “enjoyment” of math goes. So, nowadays people don’t really ask me why I like math. Perhaps, I don’t exude the happiness I used to show while doing math homework. And, despite math’s potential for absolutes, I find much more interesting the realms open to vast and endless interpretations. I enjoy the delay of testing, the uncertainty, and the interpersonal disagreements. Not to say math lacks such things, but math holds the uncanny ability to bring totally divergent types of people into communion with one uncontestable language and principles. This is nice. But I find it less appealing and fascinating than the vast conflicts within other areas of thought.