I’ve noticed that for as long as I’ve been alive, there are always people who sneer and jest at nerds, or in general, people who take interest in mathematics. Just recently, I was tutoring someone, and someone not much younger or older than I walked by and smirked at me in disdain. Well, I went on my business and ignored him. People who do not realize the importance and the contribution of mathematics to society should be left alone in their own little world.
But just so that you are not put in danger of being regarded as an ignoramus, I’d like to offer some pieces of a grand view of how mathematics is intricately involved in our daily lives.
1) Mathematics makes a real difference in this world aside from the boisterious interpersonal tactics and politics repeated in every epoch throughout history. It is said that history repeats itself, but the only reason why history can make that gradual change is due to the development of several things: better modes of transportation and communication, better ways to count money, better ways to manage a company–all motivated, designed, and guided by principles of mathematics. So the next time you’re watching a movie or tv series, or some sappy drama from Japan or Korea, remember: if it were not for math, you would probably be working on a farm, picking corn or rice or whatever grows where your race is from.
2) Mathematics makes you smarter than you think you can be. If you hate studying, fine. Go find a lazy job. But know this: mathematics can STRETCH the mind. And this is not purely genetic: of course some people are born naturally gifted in mathematics, but look at all the foreign countries and how their students slaughter Americans at math. But my main point is: you don’t have to be #1, but at least, for the sake of humanity, feign some interest/appreciation for mathematics. It makes you smarter.
3) Most importantly, your life is controlled by mathematics, unless you’re one with nature and live in the forest. Yes, you heard me right–CONTROLLED. The table lamp and the light in your room, the computer you use to do work and play games, the tv that you watch every evening, the refrigerator, the published copy of the book you’re reading, or the xeroxed copy of that book chapter, the bed you sleep on, the clothes you wear, the medicine you take when you’re sick, the house you live in, the car you drive, the bus you take to school or work… NONE of this came about without the advancement of mathematics, whether it be in the field of physics, chemistry, biology, material sciences, engineering, or economics. Remove mathematics from any one of these fields, and your world falls apart. So the next time you’re driving around in your souped up automobile staring down the nerds at school, or when you’re bullying that small, nerdy freshman and taking his lunch money, just remember: you have just proven to yourself that you are controlled by mechanical engineering and economics, which are controlled by mathematics. You think you’re owning the apostles of mathematics, but in reality, mathematics owns you.
There may be many more points I could make, but I think this is sufficient. Don’t hate on the nerds. All your futures are belong to us!
Posted by bkungfoo 
Posted by bkungfoo 
Posted by bkungfoo 
