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Tag: mathematics

  • Why Do I Need Math Skills?

    Why Do I Need Math Skills?

    As you sit in yet another math class, you might be wondering

    “Exactly what am I going to use this for in real life?”

    Even if you have a handy calculator and Google in your phone, you are learning skills relevant in so many life situations.

    Work:

    • A Cashier making change
    • A business owner creating budgets, spreadsheets, doing taxes, applying for bank loans, analyzing yearly sales, tracking employee hours.
    • A professional sports team analyst that creates computer programs using logarithms to analyze the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Buying and selling player contracts. Budgeting. Ticket sales and concessions.
    • An artist using programs that deal in pixels, artwork dimensions, focal lengths and composition rules.

    Fun:

    • Games that need addition and subtraction, money skills, or logic jumps.
    • Calculating how much your night out with friends will cost.
    • Splitting the taxi ride with friends, or the restaurant bill between people.
    • Estimating time, distance, cost. How long will it take to get somewhere, how much gas will it take, and how often will we need to stop?
    • Calculating the odds or probability in games of chance.

    Everything else:

    • Calculating a household budget.
    • Working out a loan for a car, or a mortgage.
    • Baking and cooking using measurements, time, and temperature.
    • Decorating your home, calculating how much carpet to buy, or how high to hang those pictures.
    • Saving for college, retirement, or another big expense.

    Now you may never pull out that advanced calculus graph ever again, and you will probably be ok to forget about imaginary numbers, but the logic and decision making skills you are building while learning these concepts in mathematics will help you make better decisions every day. Math really is universal.

  • “Sine” Me Up: Why Math is Your Friend

    “Sine” Me Up: Why Math is Your Friend

    Mathematics is the pariah of school subjects—dismissed as mind-numbing, tedious and often impossible to grasp, it is frequently looked down upon in schools, in pop culture and among the general public. It’s unfortunate that math has such a miserable reputation, because it may actually end up being one of the most useful things you are ever going to learn. Math has a multitude of practical applications, whether you’re looking to make your day-to-day life a little easier or are considering it for a future career. So if you’re stuck on permutations or about to lose your marbles over that logarithmic function, don’t give up hope just yet. Math might be the thing that saves you.

    A lot of the negative hype behind math is due to the sheer amount of material—the formulae and variables and properties—and it’s increasing difficulty is enough to give anyone a migraine if not taken in stride. Math is one of those things that you just can’t get the hang of without practice. And while it may take a bit of grunt work at first, there is a certain satisfaction in finally getting the right answer. This sense of accomplishment may come as a pleasant surprise. Not only is it rewarding to see the progress of your hard work, but you can actually start to have fun with it once you get into the swing of things.

    If you’re good at math, there are many career paths that may suit your fancy. Aside from strictly “mathematics” jobs (teaching positions, research, etc.), other fascinating fields like medicine, architecture, business and engineering are excellent ways to put your skills to good use. Careers in math-related fields are great for developing problem solving and logical reasoning skills, not to mention they are often both professionally and financially rewarding. If you’re committed to your talents and willing to work, a mathematics career is definitely a valuable option to consider.

    Of course, not everyone is going to be skilled at math and that is perfectly alright. However, just because you don’t work in a math-related field doesn’t mean it isn’t a useful (and necessary) tool to have under your belt. Restaurant bills, mortgage payments, student loans, the lottery—the power of math is woven through everyday life. Oftentimes, it is the glue that holds our society together. No matter what you end up doing in the future, somewhere along the way you’ll undoubtedly need math to get you out of a jam. That’s why it is so important to keep working on your math skills: you never know when they’ll come in handy.

    From multiplication to measures of central tendency, mathematics and its multitude of concepts are true treasures to possess. You may be surprised at the many doors it opens for you in today’s world. In summation, math will contribute to your progress. Keep working on developing those skills—and embrace mathematics as a crucial tool in the smooth functioning of your everyday life.