Why I Love Math

"Why I Love Math" – 17 August 2024

A while ago, I noticed something. The world is full of rules, and the world is full of exceptions. No matter what contingencies I could prepare, no matter how carefully I planned, the world always seems to save some curveball just for me, sent my way exactly when I least expected it. I would train for a race for months, only to get sick the day beforehand. I could remember everything perfectly, only to forget everything as soon as the test started. Even the language I use every day is riddled with loopholes, special cases, and irregular rules. I once was irritated by this. “Why can’t I figure things out?”, I would think to myself. “Why do things happen?”

Then, I discovered that there exists a different universe than our own. I discovered a universe that begins with the words “suppose there exists” and expands infinitely, further than the most curious mind could possibly ever explore: the universe of mathematics. In this universe, everything is by design. Each structure seems deliberately designed. Novice thinkers are rewarded for their efforts, but advanced learners can also find plenty to explore.

As I entered the world of mathematics, my first impression might have been one of stifling order and organization instead of wonder. All things obey a strange logic that seemed to be clear to some, but not me. Anyone might have been tempted to give up, but I persevered. Then all of a sudden, in one moment it became clear that this strange world of math, once solely relegated to difficult tests and torturously long and tedious classes, applied (and still does apply!) beautifully to the chaotic universe of reality. The unpredictable and the ordered connected. Eventually, I found myself performing chi-squared tests on the color distribution of every pack of M&M’s I came across. I found myself calculating binomial probabilities while playing dice games with my family. I might at one point have found myself fruitlessly searching with my friends for vague errors in an erroneous proof that 1=0.

Though I certainly don’t fully comprehend the mathematical universe yet–and I’m sure no one person ever will–I find myself relying on it more and more for a source of order and peace in a chaotic world. There’s always more to find in the world of math. And that’s why I love math.

-Seth Wilding

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