Why Should Anyone Care About Maths?

What role does each subject play in the human quest for knowledge? The knowledge which we acquire as a human race can be broken down into these classifications which we call subjects. When it comes to what is true and what is not about the universe, the typical classification is philosophy. When it comes to what has happened in the past, the typical classification is history. And when we are in search of a language with which we can describe all the phenomena around us, when we want to break the universe down into its purest form, mathematics is the classification. But who cares about maths, and how could the study of seemingly irrelevant and abstract ideas help us in the human quest to understand the universe around us?

Let us take one of the most famous, and simply put, problems that challenges mathematicians today. The question is: are there an infinite number of twin primes?3 This is surely a simple question. The truth is this question is notoriously difficult and has perplexed mathematicians for centuries. Why should we care about it? It has no relevance to the real world and seemingly no relevance elsewhere other than in

3 Twin primes are prime numbers which are two apart. Examples of twin primes include: 5 and 7, 11 and 13, 17 and 19 and so on. the specific study of number theory. This is a valid way of viewing this particular question. A very literal approach to measuring the value of knowledge is to ask if it would be used in the real world. However, I prefer ignoring the ’use’ of knowledge in the real world and instead would rather consider what’s going on underneath.

We must remember, we don’t know what we don’t know. The point of considering a problem in maths is not to get the answer, but to find out along the way parts of maths that we never knew existed. I think of it as the difference between a traveller and an explorer. Imagine you are a traveller, and you wish to go to China. You go there for practical reasons alone, and you do not care about anything other than arriving there. Now imagine you are an explorer, and you wish to go to China. Your journey is not complete when you arrive, but it has only just begun. You travelled there to explore where you have been taken. The point is, the value is not in the answer, but what it teaches you when you get there.

I see a lot of people today taking the view of the traveller. When they see a problem such as the twin prime conjecture, they ask, ‘Why would we want to answer that question? It has no relevance to the universe around us.’ But, if you took the view of the

explorer you would think, ‘I don’t know where this will take me, but I know by answering the question our knowledge of maths will become deeper.’ When Columbus set off on his voyage in 1492, why do you think he went? He didn’t know what would be there, but he did know our knowledge of the world would be improved because of it.

I suppose I am leaving something unaddressed when comparing these two things. In the example of Columbus, we gain a better understanding of the world. It is clear why we would want this. What about maths? Why would we want a deeper understanding of maths? I take a very pure approach to this question which some people may not agree with. Galileo famously said, ‘Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe.’ To me, I see the universe being one with maths. Even if we do not know how today, I believe everything in maths is connected to the universe in some way. Every abstract idea links into practical elements of maths, so who is to say that it can’t link into the universe as well?

I believe that maths plays a fundamental role in the human quest for knowledge, and I am deeply disheartened when I see people questioning its relevance. I agree that it may not be clear how it can be used but be an explorer and trust that in the end your knowledge will be valuable, whatever it is. And if you’re curious, I encourage you to explore the maths behind the twin prime conjecture. I think you might be surprised to find maths you might consider ‘useless’ cropping up in even the most abstract places.

By Elliot R (Hu)