Why do some people not understand math? Let’s learn more about an elementary language that is not as complex as it is believed

The biggest problem of math it is not some complex theorem or insoluble equation: it is the psychological barrier that its teaching produces in many people, in Peru and around the world, that prevents them from understanding and using, and even enjoying its application.

The problem derives from a conceptual error: the math they are considered a science because of their use of reasoning, proof, and other rigorous methods to obtain or confirm results. They are also a discipline of knowledge, because they allow us to understand a range of phenomena in the various fields of science.. However, they are fundamentally a language, and your teaching should begin by treating them as such.

The language of math, in its most basic components (its alphabet, so to speak), is very simple and largely intuitive. Like any language, its symbols and concepts are more easily learned at a young age. Mathematical concepts can be introduced in simple ways and with tangible examples from infancy, as soon as you start learning to count.. Games and toys can be used that reinforce concepts of quantity, volume, addition, subtraction, and other basic operations.

interpret reality

The math they are a language to describe reality or the imagined and that is yet to be verified. It is based on symbols that represent measurements, quantities and changes.. Symbols are used in formulas, theorems, postulates, diagrams, and functions.. These, whether simple or complex, are nothing more than descriptions of quantities, objects, shapes, movements and changes that would be taking place in reality.

As in the Spanish language, a thousand words may be needed to explain a set of related ideas, or four words may be used to describe the central theme of an issue. For example, algebra, with its use of letters, lines, and other symbols, is considered by many to be fearsome or incomprehensible.

It is true that it can be used to represent very complex issues, but at its core it is nothing more than a vocabulary to represent different values ​​and how they are related. For example, the classic a+b/c=dis just one more way of saying that if we know how many apples we have in one basket (a) and how many in another (b) for a given number of people (c), then we can know how many each will get (d).

“One of the oldest numerical systems was developed in Peru: the quipus were used extensively for accounting.”

The principles for creating variable value charts are equally simple. One axis represents time, the other axis temperature, and all you have to do is find a place to mark the time it was measured. Something similar also occurs with angles, other geometric shapes, and other concepts mathematicians.

The symbols and concepts of algebra and geometry are something a young child can understand, and yet in many countries they are not taught until high school.

No one would expect to discuss Cervantes’ novels in the nest, but if not start with the alphabet to gradually build a vocabulary and understand the grammar of the language, it will be difficult to read more than a pamphlet afterwards.

Likewise, the complexity that you eventually see in calculus, trigonometric functions, and other areas of mathematics are just ways of describing more complicated things. They stop seeming like a mystery if the vocabulary with which they are built has been learned beforehand.

a common language

It is often said that mathematics was not invented, rather it was discovered. This is because of what was mentioned before: formulas, functions, and so on, are simply ways of describing objects, relationships, and transformations. What has been invented is the language itself, the way of expressing mathematics: the symbols used to represent quantities, the way to write quantities, the alphabet and the language itself that expresses quantities and other factors.

The first mathematical expression found in Africa occurred in carved bones more than 20,000 years ago. These had markings indicating a count: symbols for a written numerical expression, not a reflection of speech.

The Sumerians, Akkadians and other Mesopotamians used more complex symbols more than 5 thousand years ago, which they applied in arithmetic, algebra and geometry, more than anything for accounting and commerce, calendars and astronomy. The ancient Egyptians expanded the use of the Mesopotamians, and the ancient Greeks benefited from the advances of both civilizations and refined a number of concepts and applications.

The word we use today derives from the ancient Greek ‘matema’‘knowledge’ either ‘subject of study’. Many fundamental principles derive from the discoveries of pioneers such as Pythagoras (Samos, 570-495 BC), who developed concepts such as proportionality and relationships between angles, and Euclid (Alexandria, 3rd century BC), who is considered the father of geometry. .

In America, the Mayans invented a base 20 numerical language. Ours is base 10, with quantities whose count grows in multiples of 10, similar to that of the Egyptians. The Babylonians used a base 60 system. Like the Egyptians, the Mayans also discovered zero. Meanwhile, in China, negative numbers were discovered that allow, for example, to represent debts.

One of the oldest numerical systems was developed in Peru: Quipus were used extensively for accounting, and the oldest versions of quipus have been found in Caral, dating back 4,000 or more years. It is not clear which system was used initially, but the Spanish found that the Incas counted using a base 10.

On the history, evolution and current use of math encyclopedias can be written. However, the most important thing is to know that they are a language, whose fundamentals are simple and easy to learn – especially if they are introduced at an early age, like any other language – and their handling opens the doors to all branches of science.