Why do you need mathematics?

Answer 1

You need mathematics to understand the universe, in all of its aspects. The universe itself is built upon mathematics. The elementary mathematics (arithmetic and elementary geometry) is needed to be known by all but the youngest of babies, for we use it in everyday life circumstances such as shopping, banking, driving or sports. Other advanced parts of mathematics are essential for some jobs. The thing about mathematics is that it allows us to model the world.

What I mean by this is that an engineer takes a physical problem and converts it into a mathematical problem. He then uses the rules of mathematics to solve the problem. After he finds the mathematical solution, he then converts that mathematical solution into a physical solution.

But you don't need to be an engineer to get a lot of use out of mathematics.

When you pay for something at the store, the cashier does the same think as the engineer to figure out how much change to give you.

She converts the problem into mathematical symbols. She calculates how much change to give you back, using mathematics. And then uses results of her mathematical calculations to give you back the correct change.

Mathematics is extremely powerful, that is why you should learn as much as you can about it. The world has TVs, computers and everything else you like only because we had the power of mathematics to help us create it.