4.+Maths+as+an+AOK

 Math as an Area of Knowing

 * How mathematics helps us understand the world**

Mathematics is a tool that allows a person to understand the systems that are implemented in our societies, ultimately allowing the user to understand the world. Maths is known to be the core of the sciences, the contributors to everything found today, ranging from bed sheets to satellite dishes. Knowing, how essential maths is to the development of technology, it can be established that maths helps scientists understand the world, and in turn provide for the public. Maths, however helps us grade 11 students understand the world on a much simpler level.

The basic functions of maths, + - * and / with the extension of percentages and deimals assists everyone on a daily basis, whether it’s shopping at a supermarket, or calculating the time needed to travel between destinations. In the science of physics, we’ve used maths to calculate variables such as speed and time of a moving object, to simulate collisions of cars, which has explained certain features of the design of a car. Furthermore, through the use of certain instruments, we have even able to derive an approximate value of gravitational acceleration.

Given these examples, it is evident that regardless of the knower’s level of mathematical ability, maths is still a basic tool in their understanding of the world.

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 * B. Read the following Math quotations (some you may have heard before) and below three of them, write your interpretation of what you believe the author is trying to say.**


 * "Mathematics is neither physical nor mental, it's social." Reuben Hersh, 1927-**

Hersh is trying to say that, Maths isn't MERELY mental or physical, like the theorems created in the mind or the physical representation of maths, but it's actually social, a language that EVERYONE is able to speak. It's social in the sense that regardless of race, gender or age you can understand maths, and maths also brings people together.


 * "The useful combinations (in mathematics) are precisely the most beautiful." Henri Poincare, 1854-1912**

In Maths most people know individual concepts like trigonometry, algebra or speed and distance, What Poincare is trying to say is that when people are able to combine individual concepts and work out a much bigger concept or idea like distance of moon from earth or speed of moon orbit that the maths is most beautiful.


 * "Mathematics is the abstract key with turns the lock of the physical universe." John Polkinghorne, 1930 -**

The Physical universe that needs to be unlocked would be the Physics or Chemistry of the earth, whether it's engineering a new car or looking for new galaxies all of these ventures REQUIRES maths. Maths serves the most important tool that helps thinkers and scientists prove or devise new theories. Maths serves as the key, that everyone uses to devise or confirm the theories.


 * To speak freely, I am convinced that it (mathematics) is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other..." Rene Descaret, 1596-1650**


 * "Everything that can be counted does not count. Everything that counts cannot be counted." Albert Einstein, 1879-1955**


 * "The mark of a civilized man is the ability to look at a column of numbers and weep." Berterand Russell, 1872-1970**


 * "A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems." Paul Erdos, 1913-96**


 * "Mathematics began when it was discovered that a barce of pheasants, and a couple of days have something in common: the number two." Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970**


 * "Instead of having "answers" on a math test, they should just call them 'impressions", and if you got a different "impression", so what, cant' we all be brothers?| Jack Handy 1949-**