Today's soundtrack is Rebecca St. James: I Will Praise You.
On this sunny Saturday morning, the first of Spring break, I'm reading the first chapter of The Bedside Book of Algebra, "Algebra: An Introduction."
Mathematics is beautiful in its complexity; its complexity makes it seem inaccessible to many. The author says that to understand the beauty of mathematics, "one must consider what mathematics is really about, what makes it unique, and how it has developed" (p. 6).
Mathematics is "the science of number and magnitude, the science of patterns and relationships, and the language of science" (p. 6). Rene Descartes said that "'With me everything turns into mathematics'" (p. 8), meaning that mathematics is all around us, even if we don't see it at first glance.
Mathematics can be both tangible and abstract; often we pursue an abstract path and find concrete applications, and vice versa.
Mathematics is a universal language; an equation reads the same no matter what language of textbook it is found in. Equations may also be the best way to foster initial communication with an alien culture.
Symbolic algebra (x + 4 = 10) is a branch of mathematics that finds the unknown; it is the most accessible form of algebra. There are many other branches of algebra: rhetorical algebra, syncopated algebra, Boolean algebra, etcetera.
