Is Math real? Unchaining its deepest truths: Mathematician Eugenia Cheng #atomicIdeas

Eugenia Cheng, a mathematician and author, delves into the profound truths of mathematics in her book ‘Is Math Real?: How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths’.

She aims to unchain math from traditional norms and illustrates how human curiosity, creativity, and rule-breaking can lead us to significant mathematical discoveries.

‘We play around with things. We don’t know what we’re doing in advance, but we play around in order to figure things out. And it makes me really sad that math in school is typically quite playful at the start… And then suddenly it’s like, OK, now add these numbers up and get the right answer.’ – Eugenia Cheng

Real-life scenarios used in teaching math often fail to resonate with students as they don’t accurately reflect their experiences or interests.

These unrealistic examples can disengage students from learning math effectively.

A holistic approach towards teaching and understanding mathematics—one that encourages curiosity, fosters independent thinking, values playfulness and creativity, and appreciates the broad utility of mathematical thinking skills—is advocated.

Mathematics is not just about its immediate utility in everyday life, but it’s about training our brains to think well.

This mental exercise aids in every aspect of life.

Abstraction allows us to study more things simultaneously by forgetting some details about a situation so that more things become similar.

This broader perspective is more efficient than studying things individually one at a time.

Over-abstraction can be risky as everything becomes similar, which can lead to overlooking important differences or nuances.

Recognizing individual struggles and experiences is crucial.

‘I have always felt this way. I’m basically– I’ve said somewhere else, I think, I’m like one of those toddlers who just keeps asking why all the time, and is never really satisfied with the answer.’ – Eugenia Cheng

Just like having a strong physical core helps you use your body better without injuring yourself, having a strong mathematical core inside your brain enables you to better access all other areas of your brain power.

Despite education becoming transactional where students want specific skills for high-paying jobs, there’s value in developing abstract thinking skills which might not seem immediately useful but provide long-term benefits in problem-solving and critical thinking.

Art students are often easier to convince about the importance of abstract thinking as they are not focused on getting high-paying jobs but want to think well and better.

This contrasts with some students who are more concerned about grades and future job prospects.