Understanding the Nature of Mathematics

Every human endeavor and anything conceivable by the mind is virtually

replete with mathematics. The routine activities that people do daily in life, even
those activities, events, and ideas that others may dismiss as insignificant are
invariably either built upon certain mathematical concepts or representations of
mathematical ideas. Whether one is conscious or unaware of the occurrence of
something, concomitant to its existence is mathematics. Mathematics is an inherent
and universal character of the abundant realities of human civilization. It is a useful
and powerful knowledge that facilitates profound understanding of the meanings of
various phenomena that affect everyone’s life. Mathematics can illuminate many
aspects of nature that we do not normally think of as being mathematical. It is
mathematics that reveals the simplicities of nature, and permits us to generalize from
simple examples to the complexities of the real world (Stewart, 1995).
It is therefore through a thorough understanding of its nature that will enable
us to learn meaningfully and appreciate fully the power and indispensability of the
ultimate tool we call mathematics. Specifically, this synthesis will focus on (a)
mathematics as a continuously developing/growing body of knowledge, (b)
mathematics is the science of patterns (c) mathematics and other disciplines, and (d)
mathematics as a language.

Mathematics is a continuously developing/growing body of knowledge

It is in the versatility of mathematics that an exact answer to the question
“What is Mathematics?” is difficult to elicit. There are as many conceptualizations of
mathematics as its users and applications. The reform movement in science
education portrays mathematics as a dynamic, growing field of study. Other
conceptions of the subject define mathematics as a static discipline, with a known
set of concepts, principles, and skills (Fisher, 1990 cited in Dossey, n.d.). It is a body
of knowledge justified by deductive reasoning, starting from axioms and definitions
(engineersedge, 2016). Others see mathematics as a dynamic, constantly changing
as a result of new discoveries from experimentation and application (Crosswhite et
al.,1986 cited in Dossey, n.d.). It is the study of topics such as quantity, structure,
space and change (engineersedge, 2016). Mathematical ideas develop as a result of
one’s observation or curious action on things around him. In particular, the vibration
on the violin string ushered in several mathematicians to develop their own theories.
Valuable are the English mathematician Brook Taylor’s fundamental vibrational
frequency of a violin string in terms of its length, tension, and density; Frenchman
Jean Le Rond d’ Alembert’s work showing that many vibrations of a violin string are
not sinusoidal standing waves; Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler’s “wave
equation” he developed for a violin string which according to Isaac Newton a
differential equation that governs the rate of change of the shape of the string. Daniel
Bernoulli also solved the wave equation and found that the most general solution to
Euler’s “wave equation” can be represented as a superimposition of infinitely many
sinusoidal standing waves (Stewart, 1995).
As mathematicians’ understanding of the wave equation grew, they learned to
solve the wave equation for the motion of drums of various shapes. This provided a
platform for the wave equation to permeate other fields until it established itself as
the central feature of mathematical physics. The wave equation can be found in fluid
dynamics, theory of sound, theories of electricity and magnetism that revolutionized
the human culture (Stewart, 1995).

Mathematics is the science of patterns

According to Stewart (1995), human mind and culture have developed a
formal system of thought for recognizing, classifying, and exploiting patterns and this
is called mathematics.
Devlin (2003) described mathematics as the science of patterns: “It was only
within the last twenty years or so that a definition of mathematics emerged on which
most mathematicians agree: mathematics is the science of patterns.” (Vogel, 2005).
Patterns are observed in several relevant aspects of human endeavor. Most
often we try to find regularity because certain repeated arrangements simplify most
of our daily life’s activities (Vogel, 2005). Moreover, nature’s patterns provide clues
to the rules that govern natural process (Stewart, 1995). Recognized patterns
produce a sense of security which facilitates order in the performance of our daily
work and ushers us to new challenges. For example, most fisher folks may have
recognized wind patterns that change in sequence throughout the season. The
observed pattern may guide them in which months are best to catch fish while during
off periods they may look for other means so as to continue to support their daily
needs. The pattern may also allow them to predict future wind conditions over the
seas.
Patterns in nature are abundant. We can observe regularities in the sky in the
motion of the stars, in the seasons of the year, the sixfold symmetry in snowflakes,
the stripe patterns in tigers and zebras, the pattern of spots in leopards and hyenas,
and the arrangement in a honeycomb. The regular motion of the stars at night
provides clue that the earth rotates; waves and dunes are clues to the rules that
govern the flow of water, sand, and air. The tiger’s stripes and the hyena’s spots
show the mathematical regularities in biological growth and form. The rainbows let
us know about the scattering of light, and indirectly confirm that raindrops are
spheres (Stewart 1995).
While most of the time we recognize patterns around us, we also fail to give
attention to some disorders that challenge and motivate us to look for them. Only
recently has humanity able to become aware of the two types of patterns known as
fractals and chaos. Fractals are geometric shapes that repeat their structure on ever-
finer scales (Stewart, 1995). Some captivating fractals in nature can be seen in
snowflakes, shells, lightning, ferns, broccoli, pineapple, and peacock feathers. On
the other hand, chaos is a kind of apparent randomness whose origins are entirely
deterministic. It is not just complicated, patternless behavior; it is apparently
complicated, apparently patternless behavior that has a simple deterministic
explanation. Chaos is not random: it is apparently random behavior resulting from
precise rules. It is a cryptic form of order (Stewart, 1995). Example of chaos include
water dripping from a faucet, convection rolls in a heated kettle, populations of some
species, the heart, and meteorites (Shankar, 2003).

Mathematics and other disciplines

Mathematics played a vital role in the development of civilizations. From
ancient to modern times mathematics has been fundamental to advances in science,
engineering, and philosophy (Masanja, n.d.). It also finds useful applications in
business, industry, music, historical scholarship, politics, sports, medicine, and
agriculture. The relationship between mathematics and the other fields of basic and
applied science is especially strong (AAAS, 1990). This relationship is especially
observed in Physics being the traditional area of application of mathematics. The
wave equation developed by Euler and refined by Bernoulli showed up in theories of
electricity and magnetism which paved the way to key experiments and major
discoveries by Benjamin Franklin who proved that lightning is a form of electricity by
flying a kite in a thunderstorm; Luigi Galvani, who noticed that electrical sparks
caused a dead frog’s leg muscle to contract; Alessandro Volta, who invented the first
battery; Michael Faraday, who was able to show that magnetism and electricity were
two different aspects of the same thing-electromagnetism; the wave equation was
extracted from James Clerk Maxwell’s equation- which implied the existence of
electromagnetic waves through which the German physicist Heinrich Hertz
generated electromagnetic waves-at the frequency that we now call radio; Guglielmo
Marconi, who successfully carried out the first wireless telegraphy which led the way
for radar, television, and videotape. Without mathematics none of these marvels
would never have been invented (Stewart, 1995).

Mathematics is a language

Many mathematicians hold the notion that mathematics is a language. For

Adler (1991), mathematics is pure language - the language of science. It is unique
among languages in its ability to provide precise expression for every thought or
concept that can be formulated in its terms. For Manin (2000), the basis of all human
culture is language, and mathematics is a special kind of linguistic activity
(Bogomolny, 2016).
Jamison (2000) pointed out that the use of language in mathematics differs
from the language of ordinary speech in three important ways. He emphasized that
mathematical language is nontemporal-there is no past, present, or future in
mathematics. Everything just “is”; mathematical language is devoid of emotional
content. It is the absence of emotion from formal mathematical discourse or its
introduction to informal mathematical discourse that presents no difficulty for
students. Mathematical language is precise; it does not have ambiguities that exist in
plain English and other sciences as well. The definitions and terms are verbalized
often acquiring a meaning different from the customary one . Since students are
conditioned to resolving ambiguities in ordinary speech, many of them are constantly
searching for hidden assumptions in mathematical assertions that don’t exist. As a
result, they end up changing the stated meaning and creating a misunderstanding
(Jamison, 2000).
 One’s understanding of language is greatly enhanced by his/her knowledge of
basic grammar. Sentences of advanced mathematics have a complicated structure
that would be easier to understand if one knows a few basic terms of mathematical
grammar.
Mathematics will continue to grow as a body of knowledge. There may be
other mathematical systems that are to be unraveled as a result of man’s relentless
effort to understand or address the various phenomena that confront him and along
the process he may discover and recognize more important patterns that may help
simplify the complexities around him. Mathematics continues to permeate other
fields of disciplines as without its methods and systems these fields may cease to be
meaningful and useful. Since the important value of mathematics is how it applies to
other fields it is important to understand it as a language whose grammar rules must
be rigidly followed to avoid ambiguities. Indeed mathematics is given to us in order to
take full advantage of its usefulness and power to make our lives better.

References:

Bogomolny, A. Mathematics Is a Language from Interactive Mathematics Miscellany

and Puzzles
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/language/MathIsLanguage.shtml, Accessed 16 October
2016

Stewart, I. (1995). Nature’s Numbers. New York, NY: BasicBooks. Retrieved from
https://cismasemanuel.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/ian-stewart-numerele-naturii.pdf

Jamison, R. (2000). Learning the Language of Mathematics, 4(1), 45-54

http://www.storage.cet.ac.il/SharvitNew/Storage/939935/424648.pdf

http://subs.emis.de/journals/ZDM/zdm055a17.pdf

http://math.arizona.edu/~shankar/efa/efa4.pdf

http://users.math.uoc.gr/~ictm2/Proceedings/invMas.pdf

http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap2.htm?txtRef=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Eph%2F&txtURIOld=%2Ftools%2Fsfaaol
%2Fchap2%2Ehtm

Submitted by: FRANCIS O. PANTINO-WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

LA PAZ, ILOILO CITY