We need math

[Undertoad]

Partly inspired by the busterb thread.

"Why do I need to study math," everyone always says, "I'm never going to use it."

I realized the other day that, quite often, I think in the language of mathematics. I think there is a great advantage in being able to do so. This despite the fact that I was a terrible math student. Only now do I realize why I should have worked a little bit harder at it.

Equations - a gut-level understanding, "common sense math", of how they work out is critical. For example, if you buy a car, you face down a very straight-forward equation involving at least the values: interest, monthly amount paid, quoted price. Often there are even more values. You can look for a financing calculator to run the equation, but if you understand how equations work in general, you're better off. And these kinds of equations are found all over personal finance.

How this works on X-Y graphs is something I always think about. In economics, for example, this graph usually winds up being the supply curve, the rules of which pretty much explain why everything costs what it does.

Probability is all over the place. Sometimes it's obvious, such as seeing probability in gambling or games or sports. Sometimes it's in health, or behavior, as in determining what is risky for you. It's always around in business. And in all these cases, an understanding of statistics usually comes into play as well.

Geometry - a realtor once told me he couldn't believe how many realtors were unable to figure out basic square footage. That is unbelieveable to me.