Does Mathematics FASCINATE You?

Post Reply New Topic

Do you notice patterns?
Do you look for magical sequences?
Are you into the mathematics of nature?

I absolutely love it. I'm not into "magical sequences" or numerology, but I find patterns hypnotizing. I remember in elementary school, I would be so transfixed by the patterns of the planks of wood in the gym floor, I would routinely be hit by whatever ball was being used. I don't think it was malice, just me being spacey.
The mathematics of nature makes me unspeakably happy... seeing evidence that yes, Newton was right...
I love being able to see it.

I'm reading Fermat's Enigma, and I find patterns and number theory extremely interesting. Fractal geometry also seems fascinating, I know Benoit Mandelbrot wrote a book about fractal patterns appearing in nature. However, I admit that I do not know much about the subject.

Yeah - me too. I love seeing repeated patterns then linking one thing to the other. I'm also fascinated by wood patterns - especially the rings. Also leaf shapes, I do counting a lot seeing what comes up - I do seek out magical sequences in nature - golden mean - spirals - noticing sacred geometry in all living things. From the smallest insect to the stars - I'm there look for symmetry and the math behind it. Though if you asked me to explain it - I couldn't. Though I'm working on that - not necessarily in numerology but in gematria.

That sounds like a cool book. I don't know why, but I was drawn back to this story - thought you might get a kick out of it - if not forgive my presumptiousness -



Surfer dude stuns physicists with theory of everything
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 6:01pm GMT 14/11/2007
Page 1 of 2

An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which has received rave reviews from scientists.

Quantum genesis: How life was born on Earth
Telegraph TV: See 'surfer dude' in action
Surfer Dude's Theory of Everything - The Movie

Garrett Lisi, 39, has a doctorate but no university affiliation and spends most of the year surfing in Hawaii, where he has also been a hiking guide and bridge builder (when he slept in a jungle yurt).

The E8 pattern (click to enlarge), Garrett Lisi surfing (middle) and out of the water (right)


In winter, he heads to the mountains near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where he snowboards. "Being poor sucks," Lisi says. "It's hard to figure out the secrets of the universe when you're trying to figure out where you and your girlfriend are going to sleep next month."

Despite this unusual career path, his proposal is remarkable because, by the arcane standards of particle physics, it does not require highly complex mathematics.

Even better, it does not require more than one dimension of time and three of space, when some rival theories need ten or even more spatial dimensions and other bizarre concepts. And it may even be possible to test his theory, which predicts a host of new particles, perhaps even using the new Large Hadron Collider atom smasher that will go into action near Geneva next year.

Although the work of 39 year old Garrett Lisi still has a way to go to convince the establishment, let alone match the achievements of Albert Einstein, the two do have one thing in common: Einstein also began his great adventure in theoretical physics while outside the mainstream scientific establishment, working as a patent officer, though failed to achieve the Holy Grail, an overarching explanation to unite all the particles and forces of the cosmos.

continued here with links to photos and video http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.j ... urf114.xml

I rather like mathematics. Now obviously, math is a framework of notional constructs intentionally developed to both describe and predict behavior of deterministic natural phenomena, therefore synthetic patterns will by definition necessarily arise. Although all such patterns are artifacts of the conventions of the cognitive "language" that is mathematics, their discovery, especially of the more subtle ones, leads to closer inspection and ultimately enhanced understanding and awareness of the natural patterns they describe, perhaps ones initially not readily apparent.

Man I really suck at putting things into words. Let me try again. Humans developed math to give us a reproducible, accurate way to describe what we observe in nature, and by extension to predict it. Patterns will necessarily exist in math because it is an artificial construct. But said patterns upon analysis may reveal things in nature that we did not initially notice or even think to observe. I find this intriguing because mathematics is the only language that can do this. It is flexible and quite universal; not only that, it is inherently robust and expandable. If we require a new subset of mathematics to help us do a particular thing, we can develop one based upon the existing fundamentals. For example, Newton and Liebniz formalized the theorems of calculus, allowing math to be used for a great new variety of applications, without undermining the existing principles of arithmetic and algebra. These days, we have branches of math that go in some crazy directions that we mortals can barely comprehend, but when it comes right down to it, 1+1 still =2 just as it did back when Caveman Ogg declared it so.

Less formally:

Math == Fun & Practical

I love mathematics despite the fact I am not particularly good at math (good enough but not brilliant) but I alway find math intriguing.

I would probably have been good at math if I didn't have ADD and extreme immaturity in school.

I do like numbers n patterns as i tend 2 follow da shapes of a floor n i get in 2 dat certain pattern.

I hated mathematics so much because I could not work out sets of numbers as I could with words. The odd thing is that I dn't mind sciences one bit - especially fascinated with how nature works.

I love math(if love is the right word) but my school is starting to make me hate majoring in it here.

Actually maths is my worst subject. i absolutely hate it. i dread the lessons and i dont like it one bit. i find it terribly boring and am expecially bad at shape and space/angels, anything that requires co-ordination really. something i do not have!

saying that i do like logic. I really like sudoku at the moment. But i dont really think of that sorta stuff at maths. Lol.

much love
xx

I think that math is more art than science. The numbers, the equations, the solutions.... I miss it slightly...

It's exactly the same with me. I basically suck at math. I'm much better with words than with numbers. And nevertheless I too am fascinated by the exact sciences, especially physics and astronomy. I often read popular-science books about those fields of study. Like the History Of Time by Stephen Hawking for instance. I understand most of it on a "non-mathematical" level, but when it comes to the underlying formulas and calculations, that's when I usually drop out.

NO..it bores me silly, but perhaps my interests would bore you

I love math. Even though it is not my major I have taken much more maths than is required and probably will take a lot more before I'm done with school.

Which is not to say that I like calculations or working problems. I'm not the fastest worker with math, but what makes up for that is that I like the conceptual parts.