Math Awareness Month

An anonymous reader writes: April is Mathematics Awareness Month. Mathematics of the Cosmos is the 2005 theme: Mathematics is at the core of our attempts to understand the cosmos at every level: Riemannian geometry and topology furnish models of the universe, numerical simulations help us to understand large-scale dynamics, celestial mechanics provides a key to comprehending the solar system, and a wide variety of mathematical tools are needed for actual exploration of the space around us."

Comments

Math?

[bryan986]

We all know there is no need for math.

Where to go from here?

[Just Some Guy]

I came "this close" to completing a math minor. I recently read Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea and became interested in picking up where I left off. Upon the recommendation of the math department head at the school I graduated from, I bought a textbook on topology and have been reading that at night before I go to bed.

Any suggestions on what to tackle next? I really liked set theory, Boolean calculus, and so on (which means the topology book has been really enjoyable so far). My main goal is to be able to read the occasional article on higher math that filters through Slashdot, and the various interesting-looking physics books I find when I make it in to a city with a real bookstore (the best my town has to offer is a Hastings).

I know that the real answer is "whatever I'm interested in", but I haven't been exposed to enough math beyond multivariate calculus to know what I'm interested in. Was there any class you took or book you read that made you look at the world differently or left you hungry for more?

take some more classes

[xlurker]

I don't know how old you are or what level classes you referred to, but if you really liked it that much, then take some more classes. If you're good enough at it, then you will really like:

Analysis, Number Theory and Function Theory

Like any other discipline, once you grasp the basics , admiring the cleverness and hacks of the people in that discipline can be very awe inspiring.

Math is an intimidating discipline, usually because many things have to be thought out thoroughly. Proofs can sometimes be very long. An incredible part is when you find or learn about alternative proofs. The ones that are only a few lines, that at the core contain a clever new idea that for some strange reason had eluded everyone for ages.

In a way math and mathematical proofs are like lock-picking. In the worst case you have to use a drill or explosives, in the best cases - the cases that are always hoped to be found - the are ways to open the vault by listening, maybe using a magnet or string and giving it a final kick.