Randomness And Probability: Importance of Mathematics In The Modern World
Quoting from a famous mathematician, Arthur Benjamin once said, “Mathematics is the science of patterns, it teaches us how to think logically, critically and creatively. ” I agree that the math we learnt in school today are not interesting enough. We have students asking, “What’s the use of mathematics, why are learning this?” only to told that it’s going to be helpful for an upcoming test. Now, wouldn’t it be nice if we can appreciate mathematics simply because it was fun, beautiful or even excites the mind. I know many of you did not have the opportunity to see how this can happen. So let's figure it out how interesting math is in "Importance of Mathematics In The Modern World Essay".
Starting off, is how probability and randomness can help to spice up our daily lives. Randomness arises when we deal with probability. a. This is commonly seen in games, where they used random number generator or RNG for short to determine the outcome of a certain action. i. However, I would like all of you to think about this question, how random must something be before it’s considered truly random. Let me show you a set of numbers that I generated using an online RNG system from 0 to 10, and tell me whether you feel that it’s random or not. So is this random? Well it does not look random as it seem that the numbers are going in ascending order. Now how about this? This might look random to some of you but it’s not random to me. This is because this set of 4 numbers bears resemblance to my birthday, 13 July.
To put it simply, what is randomly generated in the computer may not be perceived as random to us as our brain tend to seek patterns in what is considered random. Recently, Spotify developer Mattias Petter boast that they have implemented a new algorithm which makes their music random shuffle more random. That is, if there are 4 songs by the same artist say Justin Bieber, the algorithm will aim to play them at roughly 25% intervals. However, this cannot be considered truly random as calculations have been used to influence the selection process.
According to Professor David Zuckerman, from the University of Texas, he explained that there are several accurate ways to generate truly random sets of data. This includes the use of Brownian motion, atmospheric noise or monitoring of keystroke intervals. a. Ultimately, we humans have to learn to accept that things and not find coincidence in truly random sets of data.
Moving on, statistics play a pivotal role in our daily lives. These numerical data are used in influencing the decisions we make. A good use of stats is how insurance companies uses your lifestyle statistical data to determine the insurance price, and the premiums offered to you. As shared by an organization, Dollars and Sense, insurers tend to look at your age, gender and the type of lifestyle that you live. From these data, they are able to determine your life expectancy and calculate the insurance risks that you posed. Hence, they are better able to charge each person accordingly. In addition, we humans tend to rely on statistics when making decisions. For instance, we tend to look at reviews and ratings when deciding on what movies to watch or which retailer to buy from when online shopping. When playing games, we tend to choose characters with higher stats in order to give us an edge in winning.
Statistics is also commonly used when it comes to exams and company’s annual reports. Every students and workers alike, hail the bell-curve God as it shows how well one has performed based on the standards of the cohort. The bell-curve has helped numerous students attained their desired grades and workers to meet their quotas, thus earning their well-deserved bonuses.
Now, let us appreciate the mathematical meaning behind famous art pieces done by both artists and animals alike. Have you ever wondered how the Mona Lisa, the shell of a snail or the pattern of a spider-web be so appealing to the eye? Well, they all share one thing in common and that is they fulfil the golden ratio. By definition from Wolfram Alpha the golden ratio is found by dividing a line into two parts such that the longer part divided by the smaller part is equal to the whole length divided by the longer part. This number eventually equates to 1. 618. The logarithmic spiral is related to the golden ratio as it exhibits this divine proportion. Things that fulfills the golden ratio is appealing to the eye as it is proportionate and as mentioned previously, humans tend to seek patterns in the objects that we looked at. The symmetrical pattern displayed in the painting of Mona Lisa, snail shells and spider-web are therefore beauties in the mathematical world.
Conclusion
With so much application of mathematics involved in our daily lives, I hope that you are able to see the beautiful side of math which does not get enough attention in schools. The math that we learnt in school today involved solving ludicrous math problems, such as having a person eat 28 candy bars in one go. However, in reality, the magic in math can be seen through probability, statistics and also art forms around us. Sometimes we just have to take a step back and appreciate how math has benefited us in our daily lives. I would like to once again quote from the famous mathematician, Arthur Benjamin, “Mathematics is not just solving for x, it’s also figuring out why”.
