Michael Siemon

Why Math is Important

In order to best understand how important math is, just stop and think where we would be without it. Apart from the mere arithmetic of everyday life, calculating change or finding out what time it is for example, many of the greatest achievements of mankind would have been completely impossible without math. From ancient achievements such as the Great Pyramids or Stonehenge to modern-day feats of space exploration, math has been an utterly indispensable tool for mankind. Even if one is content to be without these wonders, without math one would still be left bereft of many of the elements which have come to characterize modern life. From computers to cars, a more advanced understanding of mathematics has been essential in the creation of so many of the things which we now feel are required in a developed society.

However, these practical accomplishments only give part of the picture of what math is and why it is important. Even if one disregards the impact math has had on everyday life, which has indeed been enormous, math has also give humanity a way of better understanding the world around them. From the ancient Greeks to Newton to mathematicians of the modern-day, the development of the science of mathematics has allowed man to assign order to the events of the world, which would otherwise appear completely random or even nonsensical. Furthermore, perhaps more than anything else, math introduces us to a profoundly logical and rigorous way of thinking which is, in most cases, otherwise absent from daily life. No matter what the applicability of knowing what a function or a metric space are actually is, the simple act of thinking about the universe in these terms is essential to any true education and the betterment of mankind as a whole. Ultimately then, math is a means by which we, both in general and as individuals, are able to improve the world and our understanding thereof.