Posts Tagged famous
The History of Mathematics
Mathematics has been in people’s lives from the beginning of time. Even in prehistory was a person required to perform mathematical tasks. The number of hunters, tools or members of a family were probably shown by the fingers on one or more hands, which is probably why today’s number systems are based on the number 5 or 10.
The second step probably arose out of the need to organise greater quantities: such as between young and older hunters, light or heavy weaponry, large or small hides.
Mathematics in Computer Programming
Mathematics is applicable in various traditional fields of engineering: mechanical and electrical engineering are among them. Mathematics is used in computer engineering too.
Mathematical logic is used in the decision making, so it is used in computer programming. As Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding the concepts of logic, they are also helpful in the programming. For instance, De Morgan’s laws are used in writing statements involving decisions and Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding these laws.
Calculations are also important in the science of computers. The text you read on the computer screen is presented in a particular format. Calculations are certainly needed for these.
Finding a Mall Parking Spot Using Mathematics
If you read the previous article on this topic, then I imagine you were quite piqued by the nature of its contents. How we use mathematics to find a mall parking spot is not a typical thing you would hear people discussing at their Christmas parties. Yet I think anyone with a modicum of human interest would find this a most curious topic of conversation. The reaction I usually get is one of “Wow. How do you do that”, or “You can really use mathematics to find a parking spot”
As I mentioned in the first article, I was never content to get my degrees in mathematics and then not do anything with them other than to leverage job opportunities. I wanted to know that this newly found power that I studied feverishly to obtain could actually inure to my personal benefit that I would be able to be an effective problem solver, and not just for those highly technical problems but also for more mundane ones such as the case at hand. Consequently, I am constantly probing, thinking, and searching for ways of solving everyday problems, or using mathematics to help optimize or streamline an otherwise mundane task. This is exactly how I stumbled upon the solution to the Mall Parking Spot Problem.