MARTINEZ, ALTHEA E.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

BSAIS 1-A ACTIVITY 1.1

Short Response: Answer with a maximum of the three (3) sentences each.

1. What is Mathematics? (Define it.)

"Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things." -Henri Poincaré.

I would define mathematics as the study of structure divorced from context.

In mathematics, we study various structures: numbers, groups, geometric objects, and many more. We
study their patterns and figure out how they work and interconnect. I would make the argument that anything
existing in the universe and anything that can be cooked up by the human mind that has some sort of structure
to it can be studied mathematically.

2. Where is mathematics? Explain briefly.

We can see mathematics all around us in products, computer designs, in the ripples made by a
pebble splashed into a pond by a curious child, and in a thousand other things there it is, but ever elusive,
recommending itself vicariously. Mathematics is nowhere and everywhere. As an abstraction, it resides in
the mind, in the realm of ideas. As an actual, physical thing it is insignificant, we might say “virtual”, not
actual as such but appearing to be so by virtue of representation. It is a consummate subliminal experience.

3. How is mathematics used in today’s world? (Give one answer only.)

Mathematics is literally everywhere in the modern world, but probably in a different way gab it has
previously. As we are living in the technological age, most of the mathematics can be automated for you but it’s
still happening in the form of computer programs and calculators. 

4. In your own opinion, is mathematics invented or discovered? Why?

5. How important is mathematics in one’s life? Explain briefly.