Here's an interesting story of a girl in Michigan with Grapheme-Color Synesthesia. In other words, she visualizes each digit, zero through nine, as a different color.
For her, and others with the same condition, it adds a new splash to math work.
The World Is Getting More Mathematical
"In the past, one could get by on intuition and experience. Times have changed. Today, the name of the game is data." — Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics
More and more, math is an essential tool to survive in today’s world. Math is a powerful tool for understanding the world, and almost everyone—from advertising agencies to doctors, from to retailers to builders—everyone who doesn’t want to be left behind is using math to do their job better and to get ahead in the world.
“The world is moving into a new age of numbers. …Just look at where the mathematicians are now. They're helping to map out advertising campaigns, they're changing the nature of research in newsrooms and in biology labs, and they're enabling marketers to forge new one-on-one relationships with customers. As this occurs, more of the economy falls into the realm of numbers.” Business Week, Math will Rock Your World, January 23, 2006
Know how math applies to real life, a new discovery in math, a math tidbit or an unsolved math problem? Submit a "Did You Know?" entry to the site!
You must be signed in. Don't have an account? Register here!
Quote Of The Day
"It should be evident that each step in my career has rested on a firm foundation in mathematics. For me, the study of mathematics was the key that opened the doors to the universe."
NASA Astronaut
Figures represent salary potential.
© BYU Mathematics Department 2009
Additional support provided by:
Mathematical Association of America