Explore Mathematics

Mathematics was always my favourite subject at school and as I come to reflect on what I have learnt over those years now I realize that very little was there a chance to delve and try to understand the matter of the subjects we studied.

The primary focus of school math education is really to teach us to solve problems applying standard methods taught to us. Nearly all the mathematics we learn at school consists of mathematical methods, whether it is multiplication, solving for unknowns with equations or using vectors. We are told and sometimes shown methods and then we use them to apply to other problems that are given to us.

Classic example is the famous Pythagorean theorem. We all know what it is and were taught to apply it every chance possible but almost never was there a time where you would pause and consider the impact that this result has on mathematics and how it is arrived at. When you come to understand the many different proofs out there and the applications this result has, I believe you really begin to better understand the purpose behind the mathematics studied.

I am thrilled to see the creativity of so many famous writers like Martin Gardner who have done so much to make mathematics an exciting and popular intellectual pursuit rather then an art for the select few. The number of books out there on the subject still seems very small but this is easily compensated by creativity that lies within the ideas that they allow us to explore.

There are so many types of problems out there. Logic, number theory, combinatorial, geometry and many more. Here are some simple problems for children that illustrate.

1. A wolf eats 10 kg of meat in 2 hours, while a tiger eats two times faster. How long will it take for both of them to eat the meat?

1. A six digit number that ends in a four is given. If you move the last digit from the back to the front, the number becomes four times bigger. What is the number?

1. A box has different coloured pencils with 10 red, 8 blue and 4 yellow. In the dark we take pencils one by one out of the box. What is the smallest number of pencils that needs to be taken in order to have a) no less than 4 pencils of the same colour, b) no less than 6 pencils of the same colour, c) at least one of each colour and d) at least 6 blue pencils.

(answer for question 3) a) 10 pencils, b) 15 pencils, c) 19 pencils and d) 20 pencils)