The Influence of Mathematics on Daily Social Activities

MTH/110

March 2, 2015

The Influence of Mathematics

Society is an important concept in which stands the intellectual development of mathematics and science. Today, in society, mathematics makes extraordinary demands and so to the world of mathematicians and scientists. The purpose of the report is to identify the influence and effects of mathematics in society. It includes some history of math and its major demands and capabilities that come with the material and mathematicians.

Math Background

People have believed in mathematics and the discipline that comes with it since centuries ago, some may like, and some may not. Some people used to worship mathematics and believe in it for living like Aryabatta and Bhaskara. Back to the 4th century, Aristotle and Plato had already an idea of the existence of mathematics in their mind and the external world; also he argued about a positive effect on individuals (Dossey). In the middle ages, mathematicians were coming out and at one point competing without knowing in discovering new techniques.

Archimedes had one of the greatest impacts on its work in mathematics but he was known later in the 16th century when Federico Commandino in 1558 translation into Latin most of his printing texts and spread it out with other mathematicians and physics of the time, that includes Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei (Toomer, 2014). Many other mathematicians were able to join the works of Archimedes but for other mathematicians, Arabic and Renaissance the methods were unknown until the 19th century. Mathematics has played a huge role in the technological and social history of humankind (National Academy of Sciences, 1968). The number of mathematicians has grown rapidly and so the quality of research, it has become the central part on most materials such economics, finance, accounting, and engineering.

Mathematician Background

During the ages, many mathematicians have contributed to influence of mathematics on

daily social activities. From the beginning of the century’s mathematicians was already having

an impact. Aryabatta was the first of many in the line of great mathematicians. His contributions

include Aryabhatiya that it is the foundations to Indian mathematics. Another great

contributor was Plato. His best-known work is the identification of five regular

symmetrical three-dimensional shapes. During the middle ages mathematicians such as

Archimedes had a big impact. One of his main impacts was the proving of formulas for the

volume and surface area of the sphere. There were many mathematicians from the beginning of

the centuries to the present time that have contributed and will continued to contribute. Math is

something that is always evolving and is this great mathematicians that continued to find ways to

improved.

Mathematician Time Period

Although many of the historical mathematicians are celebrated, that was not always the case. During their lives, many mathematicians did their primary work in universities and depending on the time period and the country most were celebrated. The 13th century was considered the Golden Age of Chinese mathematics and mathematics schools were located all over China. With the prominence of math schools in China, brought prestige to mathematicians (The Story of Mathematics, 2013). Conversely, during the same time period, in Italy, and throughout Europe, it was considered the Dark Ages. Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci who is called the most talented mathematician of the Middle Ages brought numbers to the west in his book called “Book of Calculation.” In the book, Fibonacci promoted the use of Hindu-Arabic numeral system to merchants and mathematicians but the Roman numerals were in use in Europe (The Story of Mathematics, 2010). Because of the Dark Ages, Fibonacci did not get the notoriety he deserved. Some of the greatest minds in mathematics had many various occupations. Many people did not understand the use of mathematics and the benefits, making a living as a mathematician was relatively tough. Most of the early Greek mathematicians started as philosophers and astronomers, as the years passed, many mathematicians have been employed by universities, now mathematics and science are intertwined.
Mathematicians have influenced the scientists and engineers of today. Because of the progress mathematicians have made, air and space travel is possible. The computer and network industries are based on binary numbers developed by mathematicians. It is clear that mathematics is heavily used in large industrial projects and in ever-growing electronic infrastructure that surrounds us (Väänänen, 2008). The majority of the safety improvements in our society are based on numbers and directly influenced by the great mathematical minds.

Contributions

Social activities include many things and mathematical discoveries have contributed both to the attempt to describe the natural world and also the desire to arrive at a form of inescapable truth from careful reasoning. This is what still drives the motivation for mathematical thinking today. Mathematics has contributed to society and social activities by allowing advancements in discount, banking, and weight. The advancements of earlier mathematicians allow people to live and socialize the way they do today.

Discounts have become a part of everyday life, people clip coupons, and always look for the best deals. Discounts are part of society and everyday social activities wether you are looking for the best deal on a trip or trying to figure how many shoes can be bought at the next buy on get on half off event at your local shoe store. It is a simple task to apply the discount if you know the mathematical formula to use. In the society today Banking is one of the oldest businesses in history (Banking,n.d.) used to keep track of the money a person as well as the money that they spend. Banking today involves a very sophisticated amount of computer technology to keep track of the exchange of funds. This would not be possible without the achievements of European mathematicians from the 13th century. At the time, the demands of commerce mandated a more developed way to keep track of exchange. Another contribution to society and social activities that mathematicians have made is measurements for weight. People use this type of math daily to calculate everything from the weight of a person’s luggage all the way to how many ounces a piece of food weighs.

The Affects on Society

Mathematics has changed the world in many positive ways. The discovery from the ancient times to modern times continues to build from the work that has been contributed by the past mathematicians. Their knowledge and philosophical views provide a stepping stone into the technological modern society. The influence of mathematics has affected the society and modern society in helpful ways. Mathematics is used every day in our daily lives without us even knowing it. It affects the social, moral, and cultural values in the society. The social impact on society involves the capabilities of keeping track with the help of technology such as the use of computers for banking and business management. The moral value that is stowed upon individual of the way they process and decision making such as in prioritizing by determining the levels of importance. Cultural value is reflected in the social communities that an individual reside in such as the use of geometry influences the architectural structures of the modern cities we live in. Everything that we encounter in society has math as the core. These important mathematicians have contributed their works of algebra, geometry, and the decimal number system that is used in our daily lives from purchasing products, cooking, and even making decision. The involvement of Mathematics is crucial in all aspects lives.

References

Dossey, J. A. (n.d.). Illinois State University. Retrieved from The Nature of Mathematics: Its Role and its Influence: www.storage.cet.ac

National Academy of Sciences. (1968). The National Academies Press. Retrieved from The Mathematical Sciences: Mathematics in Society: www.nap.edu

Toomer, G. J. (2014, October 30). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from Archimedes: www.brittanica.com

The US Banking System: Origin, Development, and Regulation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2015, from http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/economics/essays/us-banking-system-origin-development-and-regulation

The Story of Mathematics. (2010, Fall). Medieval Mathematics - Fibonacci. Retrieved from http://www.storyofmathematics.com/medieval_fibonacci.html
The Story of Mathematics. (2013, Fall). Chinese Mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.storyofmathematics.com/chinese.html
Väänänen, J. (2008, April). Introduction to the special theme: Maths for Everyday Life. Retrieved from http://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en73/special/introduction-to-the-special-theme-maths-for-everyday-life

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