Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Why Math Matters II

 Okay I kind of dropped the ball on my blog. Life interferred as it is prone to do.

Although I am no longer a math mentor, I thought I should finish my posts on this topic since I had compiled some thoughts about why math matters at the time. I still believe we need more logical thinkers in this world.

LIFE is full of PROBLEMS

I am not just talking about math problems. You use your brain to solve all sorts of problems whether they are math problems or problems with life.  Life has simple problems like what to wear today or what to buy for dinner? Life sometimes involves more apparent math problems, such as is it cheaper to buy the store brand or the name brand, or is it cheaper to grow my own tomatoes?  Life also has more complex problems like should I rent or buy a house, or can I afford to have a kid?  

Most everyday problems we solve instantaneously, without writing anything down, just using our brainpower. When we use our brain to solve problems we are using logic.  Different parts of your brain are used for different functions.   Math improves your logic skills by using the part of your brain that is analytical.

Think of your brain as a muscle and math as the exercise machine. Math trains your brain to understand and break problems down into smaller parts that can be solved more easily.  You will be a better problem solver if you study Math.


Texas Tattoo
Should I move to Texas?
Should I get a Tattoo?
Should I get a tattoo of Texas?

Why I wrote this:
As a volunteer math mentor/tutor for Middle and High School Students the most common complaint I hear is:
 "Why do I have to do this! I'm never going to use this again!"
So I started to think of reasons, that don't necessarily involve knowing math for math's sake, on why the study of math will help students in the real world and decided to share them here. I have several other reasons that I will be sharing in the future.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Why Math Matters


Life Changes


When I was young
 I hated broccoli.
But now I'm older
I enjoy broccoli a lot.
If I had banished
broccoli from the earth,
I wouldn't have
tried it, and liked it,
later on.

Everybody changes.
If you banish math
from your life now,
You will limit
your options.

You may not want to be
an engineer,
an accountant,
or a business owner now,
but in the future
you may want to be
something different,
something that involves math

Life Changes,
Don't limit your options
to deal with change.
Keep math in your life.


Why I wrote this:
As a volunteer math mentor/tutor for Middle and High School Students the most common complaint I hear is:
 "Why do I have to do this! I'm never going to use this again!"
So I started to think of reasons, that don't necessarily involve knowing math for math's sake, on why the study of math will help students in the real world and decided to share them here. I have several other reasons that I will be sharing in the future.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Remember the Alamo

I should have posted this yesterday, March 6, because on that date in 1836 the Alamo fell to General Santa Anna's Mexican Army after a 13 day siege. 187 Texans fought against 6,000 Mexicans.  So remember, "the Alamo" isn't just a college football bowl game.

Illustration from the Deseret Evening News, Salt Lake City, UT, August 29, 1903 

Article from The San Juan Islander, Friday Harbor, WA, November 26, 1904.

The Alamo, San Antonio, TX, photo by me

About a month later, The Army of Texas, commanded by Sam Houston, soundly defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto.  The battle cry for the feisty Texans at San Jacinto was "Remember the Alamo!" Now a giant 567.31 foot tall monument stands at the site of the Battle of San Jacinto near Houston, TX; it's the world's tallest monumental column, approximately 12 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

San Jacinto Monument, Harris County, TX, photo by me


More Information:
On the Alamo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Alamo
http://www.thealamo.org/battle/battle.php
On the San Jacinto Monument:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Monument
 http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=6702