Maths is very useful. Billions of people use maths in creative and ingenious ways every day to solve small and huge problems. In this short article, I am hoping to convince you of this. That maths is an incredibly important life skill, and that your future career and personal life will benefit massively from the work you do at school. If I’m successful, I may even convince some of you to study something Maths based at university, whether it be Maths, mechanical engineering, physics, science, economics or business.  

Science

Have you ever seen a physics professor or rocket scientist in films use a blackboard full of maths? This is what Physicists and Engineers do. Their entire subject is understood entirely through maths. Physics is best described through equations, as those equations are a solid and proven link between all the fundamental measurements Physicists make. Albert Einstein published his ground-breaking work on General Relativity in 1915 and introduced the world to his famous equation. That equation is now used today by Nuclear Physicists to engineer new nuclear fuel technology which will gift the world almost unlimited clean energy. 

In Chemistry, accurate calculations can be the difference between a new miracle medicine or a dangerous poison. Chemists do incredible work developing new compounds and materials, and how do they do it? With maths of course!

Video Game Development

Today’s video games are very complicated. They require us to simulate realities which reflect our own universe. For a racing game to act like a real race, the programmer must understand the physics and maths which they are trying to mimic. The friction forces of the tires on the ground during a skid, the force of gravity pulling a car down after a ramp or the different ‘stats’ a car might have after an upgrade all need to be modelled mathematically. 

This also extends to graphic design and animation. I should know, Addvance’s videos take a fair amount of mathematical know-how to figure out how to choreograph the more complicated animations that we do. It’s very satisfying when our animation work the way we want them to!

Art

Leonardo Da Vinci was the most famous artist who ever lived. His masterpieces are help in Museums worldwide and continue to inspire today’s artists. He was also an inventor, researcher and scientist. He looked for mathematical patterns in nature and how the different proportions of the body are related. He realised that to create picture perfect diagrams, he had to use maths to calculate precise measurements. Many more artists followed in his path and have used maths to engineer more and more intricate sculptures and paintings. Building on this legacy, today’s architects program complicated computer models to simulate how a building will stand upon completion. They program in wind, tsunamis, earthquakes and natural erosion over time to ensure the building will actually stand up straight for centuries before they lay the first brick. 

Economics

What is money if it’s not just a number? Every currency in the world is just a number which people use to sell and buy goods and services. If you can understand how the economy is doing, you can begin to spot patterns and predict the future of the economy. This is very lucrative (basically, you get a lot of $ if you get it right!). There is fame and fortune to be had for anybody who can predict the future of the economy, and yes, all the patterns they spot are mathematical. Basically, what I’m trying to say is: pay attention next time you are studying something about statistics!