History of Math ………………………………. Pages 9

Mother smiled and told, “That, my love, is where mathematics comes out.”

“People in the past used whatever way they could find and were available for them like carving tally marks on caves or bones to keep track of the season, or to count the days.”

“People in our past also came up with mathematical theories, concepts, and formulas that are based on logic and reasoning, like Pythagoras who identified the properties of numbers, irrationality of a square root, and the most especially, the Pythagorean theorem. Are you familiar with him?”

I shook my head.

“He’s one of the greatest mathematicians out there! Their findings actually help us in understanding the world better, producing new knowledge, and revealing the secrets of the universe. Do you want to know what Archimedes said about mathematics?”

I nodded.

“Mathematics, he said, reveals its secrets only to those who approach it with pure love for its own beauty.”

“Wow! I want to know math’s secrets too!” I pressed.

“You should appreciate and love it then. Math, after all, holds the key to most things in life. Wherever you go, math is there.”

Daily uses of mathematics can range from counting numbers to computing the amount of money you have to buy the things that you want or need.

Mother says that she had to compute the money that we had to save for us to be able to buy my favorite toy, Waldy!