Mathematics is the one subject students at all stages and of all subjects seem to have a tussle with. Deeply ingrained in every life process it is hard to run away from and even harder to master. Here at the undergraduate programs of BITS Pilani, we have elemental mathematics courses divided across the first three semesters for everyone irrespective of the degrees they are undertaking. This persists in the importance and needs for mathematics. 

We all know mathematics is one of the earliest sciences that earthly creatures ever developed. Flowing from counting to numerals, then algebra to power series, and onto modern-day theories of chaos and set theory, mathematics has helped humanity understand the workings of life better. It makes our life orderly and systematic and promotes reasoning and logic building. 

Ever made a budget, you used some math. Played some sport, you used some math. Played some video games, you used some math. And these are not the only uses of math in real life. 

Planning entire cities, designing the interior of your house, marketing your product, producing some music, forecasting the weather and activities like driving depend heavily on their mathematical backbone. And to get good at the said activity, you need to master its running mathematics. For centuries, curious minds have used mathematics to solve humanity's most perplexing problems. Apparently impossible feats,  such as landing on the moon or building the tallest tower have been accomplished. Without mathematics, none of this would be possible. Mathematics is a necessary tool for making the world go round. It helps quantify and simplify stuff. It brings meaning to order and arrangement. It helps us work around with stuff. 

To give an even hitting home example, let us talk about the greek symbol pi and its varied use-case around us.  Pi is usually considered approximately 3.14, but it is actually greater than 3.14, with an infinite string of numbers following the decimal point. It is irrational and transcendental and it can never be the solution of a single-variable polynomial equation with all integer coefficients, but moving away from its student like approach and entering the real world, we find a lot more

The number pi can be seen in the shapes of rivers. The "meandering ratio" that is the ratio of a river's length to the distance from its source to its mouth approaches the number pi. Morphogenesis, the process where an embryo grows from an almost uniform group of cells into a patterned structure with a brain, backbone, and limb was described by Turing as a periodic repetitive of pi. Mathematics is also found in nature; bees, for example, are masters of geometry and use hexagons to construct their honeycombs. The Fibonacci sequence, a well-known number sequence in mathematics, can be found in pinecones, seashells, trees, flowers, and leaves.

Math gives us a better grasp of the mathematical laws of the universe. Learning about mathematical principles can be empowering because it can help you make better decisions.

Mathematicians are tackling the world's most difficult and complex problems. Even the celebrated astronomer, physicist, and engineer Galileo Galilei stated, "If I were to begin my studies again, I would follow Plato's advice and begin with mathematics."

Math determined our past, it determines our present and is bound to be the biggest determining factor of our future. As math and its prowess evolves, our dependency on math, the need for math is only going to increase. It is a wonder, how I am still so shit at math. 

(This is a piece I wrote to present for the course GS F245 Effective Public Speaking)