If you can see the answer in the picture above at a glance, congratulations, you haven't forgotten elementary mathematics and remember many English words. The most important thing is that you should keep a certain wit. The first one is me, the unit of imagination; The second is equal to 8, homophonic ate；; The third is the symbol that adds up a series of numbers, which is pronounced as sum, homophonic some；; The fourth person we met in primary school was pai, a homophonic school. So the connection is: I ate some pie, which was delicious! I ate a pie, which was delicious! This is a riddle that many mathematicians like, but more people will feel puzzled or laugh after seeing it.
Yes, many times, even the math professor will probably have heard of mathematics in different fields like us. If they are asked to do questions in unfamiliar fields, they may feel that they have not chosen D for a long time.
What do mathematicians talk about every day? Are these the ones?
Sheldon: "The best number is 73. Why? 73 is the 2nd1prime number. Its mirror image 37 is 12, its mirror image 2 1 is the product of 7 and 3 ... and in binary 73 it is a palindrome,1001,and vice versa.
Sheldon: The best number is 73, because 73 is the prime number of 2 1, and vice versa is 37, which is the prime number of 12. At the same time, 12 and 2 1 are also symmetric. And the binary representation of 73 is 100 100 1, a palindrome, or 100 1. (Excerpted from The Big Bang Theory)
What's it like to learn math in daily life?
I have been studying mathematics as an undergraduate until now. Whenever new people talk about my major, when they hear the name of mathematics, they usually express that seemingly embarrassing or slightly novel reaction in two ways. People who can talk usually say, "Wow, that's amazing! Mathematics is not good since childhood, or it is not good since middle school. I really envy you for your good math! " Every time Americans ask me if I say "I major in mathematics", they will say "Wow, you must be very smart!"
When I was an ignorant teenager, I couldn't help hearing such compliments. My heart is full of joy and pride. Obviously, I never thought that one day I would use this sentence as a template to greet others. Of course, not everyone speaks euphemistically or positively. Most people will ask me, "Math? Mathematics is just numbers. What is there to learn? I don't make money, and I'm not practical ... "I also met many relatives and friends, and even many friends from Africa advised me:" Son, learn some economics or finance. It's so hot that it's good to find a job. If you make money, what job can you find in mathematics? What can you do besides teaching? ......"
Indeed, I didn't know what math was for. Even if I write this article now, I won't be the most suitable. However, when I hear more and more people ask me why I study mathematics, I also see that fewer and fewer people really insist on learning mathematics, especially in China, and the proportion of learning mathematics is very low. I always feel that there is something wrong with mathematics, which leads to mathematics being gradually forgotten in the corner and not getting the attention it deserves.
Actually, I wanted to write a rebuttal paper at first, but I think it's useless to refute other people's views. Later, I thought it was better to argue: just say that math is good and everyone can learn it! But I think that would be even more useless. Therefore, I neither criticize the existing misunderstanding, nor try to say how good it is to learn mathematics: mathematics is not only helpless at the moment, but also mysterious, and not all students studying mathematics are playing with numbers. Let's see what math is for.
What are the branches of mathematics?
The following picture may not be able to summarize all the mathematical classifications, but even this picture will not involve most of our daily life.
Generally speaking, mathematics is divided into three parts: pure mathematics, applied mathematics and mathematical statistics.
Classify mathematics
1, pure mathematics
Pure mathematics, also known as basic mathematics, is a kind of knowledge that specializes in mathematics itself and does not aim at practical application. Studying the internal relations of mathematical laws abstracted from the objective world can also be said to be studying the laws of mathematics itself. Compared with applied mathematics, it is closely related to other theoretical sciences that do not aim at application. Pure mathematics can be divided into three categories, namely, studying the geometry of spatial forms, studying the algebra of discrete systems and studying the analysis of continuous phenomena. Of course, these small classes can be subdivided. Most people spit the most. Many of the foundations laid by the nine-year compulsory education are directly prepared for the examination of higher pure mathematics courses. Those friends who say that mathematics is a number mostly regard pure mathematics as the whole mathematics.
2. Applied Mathematics
Here I want to spit out Baidu Encyclopedia. The definition of applied mathematics given by Baidu Encyclopedia is not so descriptive and instructive, and it is not very consistent with the facts. Personally, I prefer this version.
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics, which studies mathematical methods applied in science, engineering, commerce, computer science and industry. Therefore, applied mathematics is a combination of mathematical science and professional knowledge.
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that applies mathematical theories and methods to science and technology, engineering, commerce, computer and various industries. Applied mathematics is a subject formed by the combination of mathematical theory and related majors.
So what are the common applied mathematics?
If you are arbitrary, you can basically give a science at will. When you combine it with mathematics, it is the field of applied mathematics. For example, biology is a science, and applied mathematics has a big and hot branch: biomathematics. Biomathematics includes helping hospitals to process experimental data, establishing mathematical models of various cells, biological simulation and so on. Those popular computational mathematics and actuarial mathematics are all branches of applied mathematics.
3. Mathematical statistics
Mathematical statistics is the application of mathematics in statistics. Statistics was originally considered as a national science, that is, collecting and analyzing facts about a country: its economy, land, military, population and so on.
Mathematical statistics is sometimes regarded as the whole statistics and sometimes as a branch of statistics. In essence, it is a subject that applies mathematical theory to the field of statistics by using mathematical methods. There have been many articles about this before, and there are all kinds of online * *, so I won't go into details.
What can I do when I study mathematics?
If I say that mathematics is everywhere, you will definitely say that I am talking nonsense. But then I'm going to start talking nonsense.
Let's first look at the salary level of mathematicians: (Screenshot from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The average annual salary of mathematicians is 103720 yuan, about 685000 yuan. Market demand is rising at a rate of 2 1%, which is far higher than the average level of all industries.
The following are some statistical results extracted from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Mathematicians usually do the following things: (Usually, mathematicians do the following things related to their major)
Develop new mathematical rules, theories and concepts in fields such as algebra and geometry.
Establish and improve mathematical theories and concepts, such as algebra and geometry (many of which are pure mathematics)
Use mathematical formulas and models to prove or refute theories.
Use mathematical formulas and models to verify or overthrow some theories (these are probably the proofs we often say)
Apply mathematical theory and technology to solve practical problems in business, engineering, science and other fields.
Use mathematical knowledge to solve problems in business, engineering, science and other fields (specifically, space rocket orbit and model; Depth and location of mine mining; Hospital scanning image processing; Research method of mathematical model of stock futures; Insurance pricing claims of insurance companies ..... All the high-tech technologies of mankind, as small as the proportion of bicycle wheels, have mathematical applications. If you are interested in the field and are proficient in mathematics, you can take this as a career. )
Develop mathematical or statistical models to analyze data.
Data processing, big data is very hot recently, and mathematicians also have a lot of data processing;
Interpret the data and report the conclusions drawn from the analysis
Interpret data and report the results of data processing, such as GDP analysis and customer questionnaire analysis;
Use data analysis to support and improve business decisions.
Stochastic model is applied to financial industries such as fund currency to help enterprises operate.
Read professional journals, talk to other mathematicians, and attend professional conferences to keep them informed of current trends.
Organize documents, exchange and transmit the latest achievements in mathematical research.
Working environment of mathematicians
30% mathematicians work in the federal government, 65,438+06% do research and development, 65,438+03% do education system, 7% do financial insurance, and 5% do manufacturing. Mathematicians mostly work in offices to make money, and they also cooperate with many interdisciplinary fields.
Write it at the end
I could have written more and more detailed, but a short essay really can't reflect the most complete mathematics to everyone. Many people only care about work, so I just gave a simple example of what mathematics can do, but it is far more than that.
Mathematics is the foundation of science, which can combine all science and business. No matter what career plan you have in the future, you can choose to use this tool to do what you are interested in. Mathematics is not only for the so-called smart people in the world, it is just a language, a language that helps us understand the subjects we are interested in, and a starting point for studying the world around us. Don't be intimidated by the abstinence of pure mathematics, and don't deny them immediately when the next generation chooses mathematics. When they can't choose, they can be advised to choose the basic subjects of mathematics and physics, and then when they have their favorite fields, they can apply the mathematics they have learned in graduate and doctoral stages to go further in their favorite fields.