Math Wisdom
"Mathematics is the queen of the sciences …."
Carl Friedrich Gauss
This quote expresses my reasoning for pursuing mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Mathematics objectively describes and analyzes the natural world studied by the other sciences; math is used, for instance, to determine atomic and molecular motions such as the level of 1,3 diaxial repulsion between cyclohexane substituents. Furthermore, equations model cellular activities like cellular respiration, and logarithmic functions help to determine the pH of such living systems. At a more complex level, the chi-squared test and other statistical techniques evaluate the significance of drug trial results.
This quote expresses my reasoning for pursuing mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Mathematics objectively describes and analyzes the natural world studied by the other sciences; math is used, for instance, to determine atomic and molecular motions such as the level of 1,3 diaxial repulsion between cyclohexane substituents. Furthermore, equations model cellular activities like cellular respiration, and logarithmic functions help to determine the pH of such living systems. At a more complex level, the chi-squared test and other statistical techniques evaluate the significance of drug trial results.
"In Mathematics alone each generation adds a new storey to the old structure."
Hermann Hankel
One of my mathematics professors once told us that math is about being wrong. One does not expand the domain of knowledge by immediately calculating the correct answer; rather, discoveries are made when students and experienced researchers, alike, ask questions and try to understand why they are wrong. Benoit Mandelbrot, for example, may not have developed his work with fractals had he accepted that the coastline of Britain could be determined using typical measuring tools.
Quotes compiled on http://www.math.okstate.edu/~wli/teach/fmq.html
One of my mathematics professors once told us that math is about being wrong. One does not expand the domain of knowledge by immediately calculating the correct answer; rather, discoveries are made when students and experienced researchers, alike, ask questions and try to understand why they are wrong. Benoit Mandelbrot, for example, may not have developed his work with fractals had he accepted that the coastline of Britain could be determined using typical measuring tools.
Quotes compiled on http://www.math.okstate.edu/~wli/teach/fmq.html
"… When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, / … How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, / Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself, / … and from time to time, / Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars."
Walt Whitman's “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
Earning a degree in mathematics, science, or any other discipline is not, by itself, a life plan. Successfully completing dry calculations to earn high test scores is not as valuable as pure enjoyment of the material studied. Additionally, applying knowledge and skills learned in school to a satisfying career is a significant goal.
Poem found on http://www.bartleby.com/142/180.html
Earning a degree in mathematics, science, or any other discipline is not, by itself, a life plan. Successfully completing dry calculations to earn high test scores is not as valuable as pure enjoyment of the material studied. Additionally, applying knowledge and skills learned in school to a satisfying career is a significant goal.
Poem found on http://www.bartleby.com/142/180.html