Who needs nerds? Teach kids to apply maths in daily life

The square root of 2 was, by some estimates, perhaps the first known irrational number. Mathematical minds in ancient Babylon grappled with determining its precise value as early as in the 18th century BC. In more modern times, with the advantage of computational devices, NASA scientists have determined the square root of 2 upto a million digits. Which should lead one to advance the theory that on occasion, mathematicians can perhaps be as irrational as the numbers they are dealing with. As a graduate in mathematics myself, I know there is great joy to be derived in numbers. For reasons that are still unfathomable to me, I obsessively look for patterns in car numbers on the road. And although I don’t have anything like the mathematical instinct or the felicity of some others – I won’t, for instance, know the significance of the number 1729 if it reached out and bit me – I am often, in my own small way, moved to wonderment at the patterns that emerge from numbers chosen at random. There is great beauty in mathematics, which is perhaps what inspired the NASA scientists to devote a weekend to what, to many, would seem a fruitless endeavour. [caption id=“attachment_167780” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mathematical Year as a tribute to Srinivasa Ramanujan is worthy of commendation. Reuters”]  [/caption] The news, therefore, that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has declared 2012 as the National Mathematical Year as a tribute to Srinivasa Ramanujan is worthy of commendation. Mathematics is in many ways the Queen of Sciences. Neil Armstrong’s moon mission was fuelled as much by mathematics as by rocket fuel - and a superpower’s soaring ambition. And, although we don’t give it much thought, many of the objects that we use on a day-to-day basis - from an automobile to the software programs that run our computers – are made possible by applying mathematical principles at their core. Manmohan Singh says he is disheartened by the fact that India does not have adequate mathematicians, and that he wants the perception that the pursuit of mathematics does not lead to attractive career opportunities to change. Sure, we could do with more Ramanujans and others who can push the frontiers of scientific endeavour. But the bigger problem in India is at a more fundamental level: the maths that we teach millions of our children has no bearing with the real world. Which is perhaps why many of them find maths boring – and give it up in the belief that they can’t deal with numbers. Learning maths is not just about numeracy or grappling with numbers. Many other mental attributes contribute to our children’s ability to learn mathematics, and in turn learning mathematics sharpens other faculties – such as logical reasoning, for instance. Arithmetic requires an ability to learn various sequences of operations on numbers, which teaches one to sequentialise and prioritise. That has applications for problem-solving in the real world. Likewise, mathematics also sharpens children’s spatial reasoning ability – that is, the sense of objects in a multi-dimensional space. It’s the same skill, which for instance, makes one a better chess player: to a mathematical mind, the various chess pieces are like ballet performers, moving in synchronicity with one another. Spatial ability also kicks in when you drive an automobile on the roads: you are constantly assessing your position on the road vis-à-vis countless other vehicles moving at various speeds. Which is probably why mathematicians make good drivers and should qualify for lower vehicle insurance – unless of course they’re distracted by abstract calculations about the square root of 2 to a million digits! At the secondary school level, additionally, the curriculum should ideally incorporate applied mathematics concepts that have practical use in the real-world. For instance, high-school children will benefit vastly from some elementary personal finance concepts, which fuse applied mathematics: this will prepare them for a time when they can handle their own finances smartly. The honest truth is that even grown-ups who earn well are not very smart at managing our money, and don’t apply the mathematical concepts that will give us more bang for our buck. That’s only because we didn’t learn these concepts when we were sufficiently young, and mid-life is too late to start. Indicatively, the power of compounding is one of the most important concepts in investing and money management, and there is no better time to learn it than when you are in high school. That’s because the power of compounding works best over the long term, so someone who saves Rs 5,000 a month over 30 years from age 25 will be better placed at retirement than, say, someone who begins saving only at age 40 and saves Rs 10,000 a month. Other personal finance concepts – covering the entire gamut of financial planning, from the danger in rolling over credit card debt to being a smart spender - are worth reinforcing early in life, so that when they start off their career, they will sip right into the mode of being smart money managers. So, as much as we need nerdy maths wizards to grow up to become Ramanujans, we also need the less gifted to be inculcated with applied mathematics concepts that will help them make the most of what they earn later in life and become wealth creators.