What is Math?

           Girolamo Cardano was a mathematician, physician and astrologer who was born in 1501 in Pavia. His father, Fazio Cardano, had such expertise in mathematics that it is said that Leonardo Da Vinci consulted with him in regards to questions about geometry.  He was known for a range of things - from giving the first clinical description of Typhus fever to essentially leading the way for  probability.             Interestingly, Girolamo resorted to gambling to make a living. Because he understood probability so much, he had a greater advantage over his opponents and usually was able to win more than he had lost. However, gambling became an addiction for him. There's a story in which he believed he was being cheated at cards. Cardano became enraged and slashed the face of his opponent with a knife, which he carried with him at all times. He was not a very well-liked man. He also did not always do well with gambling. He had lost so much at one point where he had to pawn his w

The applicant pool is filled with a diverse bunch of people, but here are some reasons why mathematicians should stick out when searching for prospective employees. 1. Mathematicians are awesome at multi-tasking    There is never a time where a mathematician is not doing something productive. Most of the time, we are doing multiple productive things at once. For instance, right now I'm writing this blog whilst thinking of a way to solve a proof in one of my classes. Math majors are able to juggle multiple assignments and still be able to produce quality work while meeting the deadline. We work well in fast-paced environments as well as work well under pressure.  2. Mathematicians are natural-born problem solvers We are constantly thinking about solving something, but can switch to focusing on another problem quickly as well. We are really good at using knowledge from one subject to help in another. We can apply different techniques in order to find the best result. 

 Hi, all.  Today I'm going to discuss something that I have never heard of until, well, yesterday. I was at my Chiropractic appointment getting a massage when I was discussing the probability of a certain genetic mutation. Why was I talking about that? That's another story. Anyway, as I was discussing this, the masseuse kept reacting as if each number I said was something magical. As I concluded that said genetic mutation probability was 1/10,000, she told me that when she hears or sees numbers, she also sees colors. Something called Synesthesia. Since I love numbers, this really intrigued me and I wanted to know more about it. So, this is me trying to understand it.         S y n e s t h e s i a -  defined by Dictionary.com  as, " a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color. " Apparently only about 2% of the

When given the opportunity to choose a book for my capstone, I picked the title that stood out to me: The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz. The first thought that came to mind was : how can anyone find any joy in X?  That's ridiculous! Thinking about my reaction to the title reminded me of the sort of response I get when someone asks me my major and I tell them Mathematics. The responses I usually get are, "Why would anyone CHOOSE a degree in Mathematics?" And most commonly, "Ew".   I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that sometimes one cannot find the joy or the passion for something unless they dig a little deeper into it. Strogatz does an amazing job showing the interesting, yet useful ways math is used every day. He starts off with simple concepts as to why we've developed counting techniques by using a Sesame Street's Fish to Infinity . He moves on to the loneliness of prime numbers and finishes with the complexity that is infinity, with man

      I've decided to dedicate this blogpost to Egyptian mathematics. They intrigue me, and I'd like to know more about Egyptians' role in mathematics. Before I begin, I'd like to note that I learned all this information via this awesome webpage : http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/masters/egypt_babylon/egypt.pdf      So, what we know of Egyptian mathematics comes from examples written on papyri. The Ahmes (or known as Rhind) Papyrus is 18 feet long (yes, you read that right) and 13 inches wide. They had a good grasp on arithmetic and its applications. Egyptians were able to solve equivalency problems, addition, multiplication and division all by use of grouping numbers and binary multiples. For example, let's take 52 * 9. By using its doubles, we are able to easily compute this. 1 *52 = 52 2*52 = 104 4 * 52 = 208 8 *52 = 416 Then since 1+ 8 = 9, then 52 + 416 = 468 which is 52 * 9. I really enjoy doing it this way. I'm not so sure why. Maybe it'

      What is math? This is one of those questions that seems trivial but when one actually thinks about it, the answer appears to be rather elusive. How can one describe something so vast? Well, I'm about to try.        Math is all around us, even if we don't always notice it. We use math to find sequences and patterns, to establish theorems, to solve problems such as whether or not I have enough change to purchase an Iced Vanilla Coffee at Burger King --you know, the important stuff. Math is used for budgets, for construction in determining materials needed and resources used. Math is used to determine amount of anesthesia used on a patient undergoing surgery; an intricate process in which a small error could result in a fatality. So, to me, math is the foundation in which everything exists. It is a large part in the building blocks of life.         What are the top 5 moments/discoveries in math? This question is a hard one. Since math exists all around us, it's