In class on May 10th, our professor asked us the question "what is math?" Although we are all math majors and have taken almost all of the same math classes, not one of us answered the same. However, we all did describe math in different ways such as "math is a language used to communicate and problem solve," "math is a way to describe the world using numbers and logic," and "math is creative problem solving with numbers, letters and symbols." To me, math is all of these things plus more. Math is something that you cannot just memorize like other subjects, there are many different ways to solve one problem. Also, whether you know it or not, you are using math every day of your life. People always ask me what my major is and when I respond with "math," the reaction never fails to be "ew! Why math?!" People have such a negative outlook on math because it can be a very difficult subject to succeed in. However, this is what makes it fun for me, being able to problem solve and figure out a hard question is so rewarding. Therefore, to me math is a reward.
Unfortunately, I do not know a lot about the history of mathematics, yet I am excited to learn this semester. However, I do know a few names that have had remarkable effects in the history of math such as Euclid, Euler, Pythagorean, and Fibonacci. Each of these people contributed to math in different ways. For example Euclid gave us Euclidean geometry. Euler was important in the discovery of graph theory, Pythagorean gave us the Pythagorean theorem, and Fibonacci discovered the Fibonacci numbers. Although I do not know much, I know these are very important figures throughout the history of math. I am excited to learn more about the history and discover how math came to be.
Unfortunately, I do not know a lot about the history of mathematics, yet I am excited to learn this semester. However, I do know a few names that have had remarkable effects in the history of math such as Euclid, Euler, Pythagorean, and Fibonacci. Each of these people contributed to math in different ways. For example Euclid gave us Euclidean geometry. Euler was important in the discovery of graph theory, Pythagorean gave us the Pythagorean theorem, and Fibonacci discovered the Fibonacci numbers. Although I do not know much, I know these are very important figures throughout the history of math. I am excited to learn more about the history and discover how math came to be.