What is the essence of Mathematics? Is this important to our daily life activities? Many people are afraid of Mathematics. For some known reasons they are often dislike it. This is actually one of the subjects that students need to learn before entering the formal schooling. According to Paul Halmos, “the only way to learn Mathematics is to do Mathematics”. This means that everyone needs to engage and perform different operations attached to the entire learning area.
But what is the real essence of Mathematics? Take a look on a four-year old kid who starts counting one, two, three and a lad who likes to identify the shapes of his toys. Another typical example is a child who’s selling sampaguita on the street. He needs addition to know how many sampaguita are to be sold; subtraction to give the remaining peso of the customer; multiplication to know the total amount to be paid if the customer gets two or three strings; and division to divide the earning of a child in his expenses. Let us also cite carpenter as an example whose life revolves on making houses. This man has to compute the number of sack of cements, the cubic meter of sand, the kilo of nails, the length of wood, the pieces of hallow blocks, and he has to estimate the amount to be spent for the construction of a simple house that is enough for a small family. In a hardworking jeepney driver, whose life begins and ends on the road by bringing the passengers on their destination, Mathematics is present. This man has to check the number of his passengers. He has to know how many boys and girls are. He has to remember their physical appearance most especially those having uncharacteristic acts. By driving he has to know his speed and velocity for safe travel.
What about in business and management, is Mathematics important? Take a note on the financial statement of a business entity which listed the statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth in numbers. It also includes the revenues and expenses of the company presented in figures. Sometimes in a life of a manager, he has to make an adjustment on the number of personnel he had by limiting its employees. How about in the field of medicine, is Mathematics essential? Let say the doctor has to show the condition of a patient, he has to use different numbers to present the blood pressure, heart beat, urine test, complete blood count, and even neuropsychiatric examination. With this, Mathematics is indispensable in the said field of specialization. Meanwhile on the part of robotics Mathematics is present when instructions are saved and followed by the robot. However, Mathematics is most likely known by many in the field of engineering. Many are vocal when someone is studying engineering that he is good in numbers or in problem solving. Well, it is true because students who are good in Mathematics are analytical and logical as well. On the side of military Mathematics is also evident. Soldiers have to be quick on their operation that is why they are using watches and compass to determine the time and location. On the side of research Mathematics is also well-known. The researcher is using number in gathering data, processing data, and organizing them to become reliable information. In interpreting the data organized, researcher has to use Statistics to interpret the result. Researchers also have to use several operations to come up with a valid result.
These show that Mathematics is visible in all aspects of the people’s lives whether at school, at home, in the community, at work, and even in business and research studies. Mathematics is just significantly needed by many. Without it, life can be very frustrating. So, people should not be afraid of learning Mathematics, because life revolves around figures.
By: Limuel L. Caña | T-I | Mariveles National HIghschool
