MATHEMATICS HELPS PREDICT BEHAVIOR OF NATURE AND

PHENOMENA IN THE WORLD

MATHEMATICS BEYOND NUMBERS:

ITS PURPOSE AND APPLICATIONS IN

NATURE

Submitted by:

Kathlyn Dennisse V. Labeta

BS Accountancy - 1A

Submitted to:

Mrs. Josephine Abuel Camson

 In the book of Ian Stewart “The Nature’s Numbers”, readers have been given a
profound understanding that Mathematics is not just about numbers. It made people
realized that mathematics is much more than we expected. And it is evidently shown in
our nature through their patterns, sequence, behaviour and many more. As years have
passed, there are lots of esoteric discoveries proposed by different scientist and
mathematicians. But not all of them were given enough evidence to be considered true.
But through observation, experimentation, and trial and errors, some discoveries were
considered as something authentic and possible. This is where mathematics comes in.
Through Math, they can provide equations so that they could prove that their discoveries
and observations are not accidental. And somehow, these findings had helped in
predicting the behavior of nature and phenomena in the world.

By observing in the modern world, it is clear to the sight and mind that
Mathematics can be a great help in the prediction of the behavior of the nature and the
phenomena in the world. But it does not specifically mean that Mathematics is the only
core factor in providing predictions. So the emphasis to this statement is that
Mathematics helps predict. Help is the key word. In having predictions, Science is the
one who takes role and do the predictions but what does Math do? It is what helps the
predictions be more reliable and possible through right and accurate calculations
specifically through the process of observing and experimenting. Mathematics helps
because all of the knowledge that was gained allows us to describe relations and compute
values on events and help science in doing what it wants to prove. As explained in the
book of Ian Stewart, mathematics is really associated with science. And it is proven in
Newton’s discoveries on the acceleration of an object and also on the discovery of the
new branch of Mathematics which is Calculus. As Stewart stated, the story of calculus
brings out two of the main things that mathematics is for: providing tools that let
scientists calculate what nature is doing, and providing new questions for mathematicians
to sort out to their own satisfaction. Through Calculus, we can create mathematical
models to come up with a possible solution and that is another way how Mathematics
helps in predicting. It is through the process they call as the Mathematical Modeling.
Using Mathematical tools, we develop models which accord to what we can measure and
observe in the real world. And through the model that works well, we can start predicting
how the nature behaves and start to distinguish those behavior or phenomena that occur
without any relation to others. So in Mathematics, they don’t just observe and describe
every details that people noticed, it is also about determining which one exhibits
relationship to others and which one integrate a disparate subject. Mathematics explains
how some happenings in the nature reoccur. Like in the sunset, Mathematics explains
different factors such as where it went, and why it returned. That is because it is easier to
explain this using number. Additionally, through the formulas and calculations, we can
easily conclude if the events in the nature happen together or if they oppose one another
by determining the way of using numbers and different operations. [1]

Ian Stewart also mentioned the Oscillation in Chapter 7. According to Merriam-

Webster Dictionary, The oscillation is the act of regularly moving from one position to
another and back to the original position. He shows how Muybridge discovered the
mathematical rules in the oscillations of the gaits of the horses. It can easily start from
curiosities on how animals move and why do they move like that. Nature has rhythms
and somehow by careful observation, different oscillations can be noticed everywhere
especially in animals. Through understanding oscillations, the behavior of the nature can
be predicted. The mathematical concept of an oscillator in which they repeat the same
behavior again and again is an organizing principle behind many biological cycles.
Through interactions of oscillators in nature, biology can be further understood and
complex patterns of behaviors can be created.

By experimentation, we can detect chaos patterns in the world. According to Ian

Stewart, Chaos patterns is a kind of apparent randomness whose origins are entirely
deterministic. Chaos patterns are mathematical phenomenon. So this implies that in order
to predict the future we should understand its starting conditions. Through chaotic
system, you can get different predictions from different probabilities acquired from the
randomness of the patterns. Chaotic gives a wider view in predicting not just effects but
also the cause. Most of us view simple causes will probably have simple effects but
through chaos, there are always lots of probability that could happen in every simple
causes. For example is the use of egg beater in making meringue, what we see is it’s just
a machine that mix and which goes in fast, circular motion but we also need to see that
there are far more happenings between the egg and sugar. There are already chemical
changes occurring in the process of mixing egg and sugar. So this implies that simple
cause or motion of the eggbeater can have a complex effect on the egg and sugar. But
these system does not necessarily implies that there is always a possible complex cause
and effect. Simple effects can still come from simple causes.

In observation, experimentation and trial and error, Mathematics is present. And

through these three methods, discoveries, proofs, and predictions are acquired. It begins
with observing the natural phenomena and then discovering the mathematical rules,
patterns or concepts that could describe their motion, behavior, and relationship. After
developing mathematical rules, more observations are done to try if these mathematical
rules can be applied to other parts of nature. Some of this mathematical rules are the
oscillation and the chaos concept which are really helpful in coming up with predictions
in behavior of the nature and phenomena in the world. Oscillation is in where we can find
repetitive patterns in the movements and behavior of nature while in chaos concept is
where starting conditions are considered in coming up with a prediction. It pointed that
there are lots of probabilities in what may be the cause and effect of each phenomenon so
it is important to consider the randomness of the results. In the modern world, inventors
have developed a way to use mathematics in producing models that could help us forecast
weathers and in doing cloud seeding [1]. All of the things mentioned are some of the
ways that prove that Mathematics is much more helpful in our lives than people expected
it to be. Most people grew up asking the purpose of these complicated calculations in
their daily lives. Here is one of the answers. It is because Mathematics helps in predicting
behavior of nature and the phenomena in the world.

References:

[1]https://www.academia.edu/37079573/MATHEMATICS_HELPS_PREDICT_THE_B
EHAVIOR_OF_NATURE_AND_PHENOMENA_IN_THE_WORLD