MHB What Makes Mathematics So Captivating?

[Barioth]

Hi guys

With the exam coming in 1-2 weeks, the big study is coming, need to drill some exercises in probability and diff.eq.

I was wondering, why do you like love mathematics?

Thanks for passing by!

 

[caffeinemachine]

Hi guys

With the exam coming in 1-2 weeks, the big study is coming, need to drill some exercises in probability and diff.eq.

I was wondering, why do you like love mathematics?

Thanks for passing by!

I think its best understood by analogy. Pick any form of art you love.. say music. If you love music its not really possible to tell another person why you love music. Same with mathematics.

 

[Barioth]

I think its best understood by analogy. Pick any form of art you love.. say music. If you love music its not really possible to tell another person why you love music. Same with mathematics.

Thats a great answers I like it!

Thanks

 

[MarkFL]

I think Henri Poincaré said it best:

Is mathematical analysis...only a vain play of the mind? It can give to the physicist only a convenient language; is this not a mediocre service, which, strictly speaking, could be done without; and even is it not to be feared that this artificial language may be a veil interposed between reality and the eye of the physicist? Far from it; without this language most of the intimate analogies of things would have remained forever unknown to us; and we should forever have been ignorant of the internal harmony of the world, which is...the only true objective reality.

 

[The Chaz]

Purity.

 

[alyafey22]

I cannot claim to love Mathematics , because it is a broad term , but I love some fields in Mathematics. I love complex analysis , why ? because it is amazing . Most of the things are imaginary , you transform everything from the real world into the complex globe where anything might happen .

 

[Nono713]

Mathematics has been shaping our lives since millennia. It is perfect in every way, all of it fits together with unwavering logic. Elegant proofs make us realize how powerful the human mind is, and the immense body of mathematical discoveries amassed over the centuries is a tribute to the human spirit and its eternal thirst for knowledge. This, in my opinion, is what makes mathematics the one greatest achievement of mankind. After fire.​

 

[ModusPonens]

I think what I'm going to describe happens with all people who apreciate mathematics.

There's a kind of synesthesia when I study a subject of mathematics. For example, abstract algebra is round and solid. For example a ring in general is not very solid, but a field is more solid. Logic is angular and sharp, very structured, particularly proof theory.

And to me the pleasure of mathematics is associated with this synesthesia. The forms have origin in the nature of the subject. There's one thing all of the subjects have in common though: they are perfect, in the logical sense. As long as a theory is consistent, what you prove in it is not only inevitably and perfectly true, but also eternal.

Returning to the synesthesia, there was a TED talk I watched describing how everybody has some degree of synesthesia. The artist who gave the TED talk exemplified this with a microphone and a projection on a screen of what a person had said. For example if you say "bo" there arises a round form such as a circle. If you say "tah" the shape that arises is like a triangle with sharp edges. It's really interesting realising that areas suposedly not connected in your brain have different representations of the same thing.

 

[caffeinemachine]

After fire.​

Mathematics is the fire.

 

[I like Serena]

From an early age math has triggered my sense of wonder.
It has led me to involve myself in most fields of math and physics (up to some modest level).

 

[Petrus]

Mathematics is the fire.

Thanks, now I know what I need to bring to my exam, fire-extinguisher!

Regards,

 

[kanderson]

Thanks, now I know what I need to bring to my exam, fire-extinguisher!

Regards,

I think he meant Mathematics was the fire of knowledge. Everyone had to learn the number system first and it just went from there.

 

[Jameson]

I love math because I enjoy learning about it but a big part of that is the sense of certainty it brings. Given certain assumptions you can make logical conclusions that must be true. Other things in life don't seem to work this way and some things seem to have no answers, which makes math all the more interesting and grounding for me.

 

[Barioth]

Thanks for all of your answer guys!
A reminder of what makes doing mathematics fun before the final is a good thing!


I am going to "burn" through these exam! (meh ... Sorry that was cheesy...)

 

[Prometheus1]

I think he meant Mathematics was the fire of knowledge. Everyone had to learn the number system first and it just went from there.

And I think you have just missed a good joke!

 

[tkhunny]

I always found this meaningful:

"Many who have had an opportunity of knowing any more about mathematics confuse it with arithmetic, and consider it an arid science. In reality, however, it is a science which requires a great amount of imagination."
Sofia Kovalevskaya

Singing and Music and Mathematics I understand quite a bit and believe I could understand more if I tried - and I often do try.

Dance and Sculpture and Painting I understand very little and believe I could not gain more understanding even given quite a bit of effort - and I do venture from time to time.

 

[ModusPonens]

I've always found this inspiring:

 

[kanderson]

I probably missed the joke, but don't get me wrong, I see mathematics as imaginative more than sciences. I was just trying to expand on the comment earlier which I didnt know was a joke.

 

[mathmaniac1]

I was wondering, why do you like love mathematics?

1.Mathematics can be likened to magic.For example I can find the sum of the first 100000 numbers in less than a minute.But someone who has less background in mathematics will take almost a day for it.
2.Mathematics makes you think you are wise(and sometimes that you are incredibly stupid)
3.You can show up infront of others.(But most of the others won't care about it)
4.Anyone who sets out to find things in mathematics isa mathematician
no matter what their level of knowledge or IQ is.
5.You only need to be awake to do math.You don't need anything else(but sometimes paper and tools are needed).
6.You will never be bored.You will never have a free time.Mathematics makes any boring environment enjoyable.(you can do it in your head).
7.The joy of doing something you thought to be difficult or impossible is unexpressable.

...

 

[ModusPonens]

1.Mathematics can be likened to magic.For example I can find the sum of the first 100000 numbers in less than a minute.But someone who has less background in mathematics will take almost a day for it.
2.Mathematics makes you think you are wise(and sometimes that you are incredibly stupid)
3.You can show up infront of others.(But most of the others won't care about it)
4.Anyone who sets out to find things in mathematics isa mathematician
no matter what their level of knowledge or IQ is.
5.You only need to be awake to do math.You don't need anything else(but sometimes paper and tools are needed).
6.You will never be bored.You will never have a free time.Mathematics makes any boring environment enjoyable.(you can do it in your head).
7.The joy of doing something you thought to be difficult or impossible is unexpressable.

...

Yes, I forgot to mention point 7. It's just an adrenaline shot!