Why Does Mathematics Need Imagination?

                      By Vic Odarve

Math is seen as a tough course by many students, and only a few are interested. That is why using your imagination may assist you in comprehending, appreciating, and challenging how this course operates. Many people are unaware that our imagination keeps various mathematical equations and formulas in our heads, allowing us to understand how they work in real-world scenarios and, of course, their limitations. As Mother Nature expresses her beauty through mathematics, from Newton's law of motion to Kepler's laws of revolving planets, our imagination keeps us appreciating the beauty and grandeur of our planet and the universe we live in. And much more; our imagination would keep us challenged to investigate math secrets and their role in the universe's mysteries. Understanding math is more like doing imaginative play than anything else!

Math consists of interwoven equations and formulas, and imagination would keep the students’ interested considering how math works intangible worlds. Imagination also adds our knowledge in quantum and cosmic worlds because variables or quantities involved in the math equations are developed only in modern science labs and scientific experiments which are often out in our real senses. In quantum mechanics, for instance, particles behave differently from classical mechanics. In cosmic science, some mathematical formulas and equations developed from years of observation in various astronomical phenomena like an event horizon, a quantum singularity, the expanding universe, the uncertainty principle, and many others. But Einstein’s equations, where time is not constant, and his conversion ratio between matter and energy, are clearly a result of imagination. Prediction formulas, too, which are the product of probability and statistics, also come from imagination. Hence, imagination helps us going to get deep into equations with mathematical relationships between different things.

Math is beautiful

There is no ugly mathematics. Math is always beautiful. The beauty of math can be further appreciated by imagination. Mother Nature teaches us math, from plant leaves to cloud formations and the intricate webs of celestial bodies stretching into the cosmic ocean. Beautiful and intricate applications of mathematics are illustrated in the complexities of our natural world, such as the golden ratio, the Fibonacci sequence, fractals, and the honeycomb conjecture. The simple twig of a tree is a fragmented geometric shape that looks like the branches that they grow on, which look like the tree itself—a beautiful mathematic expression! Another one is a hexagonal-shaped honeycomb created by the bee. It is geometry in action. And these are all around us. Mathematical equations give us an understanding of Mother Nature’s mind and how the laws of physics are working. The existence of these laws keeps us appreciating the beauty of understanding mathematics.

Engineering class

 And much more. Imagination would keep us challenged to investigate math further, unlocking some of the secrets and discovering things we don’t yet understand. Some mathematical laws discovered are so strange that they keep us mind-boggling and expanding. Through imagination, we are just like playing equations in our minds and thinking about how they work in different circumstances and challenges to solve some of the mathematical problems. Newton and Leibnitz, for example, imagined how to solve areas of figures bounded by several curves and developed integral calculus; Laplace developed the method for solving differential equations; and probability and statistics for gambling or games of chance.

For a math-intensive career like engineering, it is through imagination that students can play around various math equations and formulas. Imagination is a driving force that leads to many inventions and innovations and what brought us to our present state of civilization. Math is not math until it is understood, appreciated, and challenged. And it needs imagination!

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