A poor man

1
A poor mans defense about mathematics

• Because if you dont do mathematics any more I
  may be the last mathematician who you will ever
  meet and I hope I deserve 3 minutes of your time
  to explain to you what we do and why we care

2
What you know about math already

• Its hard?
• Its boring?
• Its non-sense?
• Hopefully theres a bit more than that

3

• You already know a good deal about algebra,
  geometry and calculus the three main pillars of
  mathematics
• Well, thats a slight lie p
• What are these subjects good for?

4

• Geometry The Egyptians used it to measure the
  height of a pyramid, and Plato thought it is
  essential to pursue it purely for the sake of
  knowledge
• Calculus Newton invented it just to calculate
  how stars and planets moved!
• Algebra It is about the simplest kind of
  structures that you have in mathematics and a
  good mastery of this helps you solve a lot of
  other (mathematical) problems (think partial
  fractions and factorization!)

5
Whats next in math?

• Advanced calculus and analysis
• - Integrals and differentiations involving
  functions of several variables
• - Essential for engineers for describing
  mechanics, fluid motion, probability, financial
  calculus, etc
• Differential and algebraic geometry
• - Not only study triangles and circles now
• - Can study general surfaces, formulate ways to
  measure how things curve, etc
• - Useful in studying space-time (relativity,
  Einstein!)
• Number theory Cryptography, Internet security

6
Are there outstanding problems in math, and why
does one care?

• Fluid mechanics studying wind and motion of
  water (for building aircrafts?!)
• Particle physics (for understanding the
  universe!)
• Distribution of prime numbers (for improving
  internet security!)
• These are just a few of the 7 mathematical
  problems that was proposed at the turn of the
  century (Incidentally, anyone who solves one of
  them gets a million dollar prize)

7

• All in all, to develop theories to understand
  (mathematical) objects and phenomena
• Just like what you do in any other subject
• Certainly deserves the intelligence of some of
  the best minds in the world (of course this
  applies to any other disciplines)
• A very good place to develop logical thinking and
  problem solving skills
• So I hope you will appreciate a little better
  what mathematicians do from now on!