THE BEAUTY OF THE CONCEPT OF MATHEMATICS

Shuchita Shrivastava

We heard them say, “Nothing is perfect.” Well, there are two things in this world that are perfect. One is Mother Nature, the other is mathematics. When I say perfect, I mean it cannot get better than this.

How do I make this conclusion?  Mother Nature is a complex web of life and the lifeless. The very state of it being so perfect is the reason for life and also for death. Mathematics, on the other hand, is man-made, to understand nature and beyond. Now, there is a debate over whether mathematics was invented or discovered, but either way it is still perfect.

Every day there are new discoveries that are made in nature and in maths as well. We are just getting more aware of the truth, which exists independently of our acknowledgement.

Maths is founded on simple yet powerful elements — numbers. Numbers, just like the elements of nature, share a complex relationship with every other element in that set.

This relationship is universally valid. The equation, (a+b)2 = a2+b2+2ab, stands true on Earth, on Jupiter and even if the sun goes down. Because, math doesn’t exist in this physical dimension. It exists entirely in the human mind, it’s a mental concept, and I think this is the most beautiful concept ever made by the human mind. Maths and human beings are co-dependent to aid each other’s growth.

When we get to the bottom of it, we see that math is an abstract representation of nature — element to element, shape to shape and relation to relation. This fundamental reason suggests that maths is no different from nature. Hence, any real-world problem can be solved in maths and any maths solution is effective in the real world. Of course this statement doesn’t hold true in love and war. Those topics are out of the scope of this discussion.

What is the largest number your mind can conceive? What is the size of the universe? The answer to both these questions is one and the same. The answer is not infinity, it is zero. Yes! The size of the universe is zero, and so is the largest number!

Let me explain. For every positive number there exists a negative number in maths. For every matter there exists anti-matter in nature. This is the big picture. Therefore when you put everything together, the size of the universe is zero. Zero is thus simultaneously everything as well as nothing. That’s why it’s called a whole number. You add or remove anything from this whole, it still remains a whole.

This beautiful conception was made in ancient India at a time when the rest of the world was busy figuring out whether the earth is flat or round.

It’s really astonishing and makes me proud of the intellectual wisdom of ancient India, making such a ground-breaking revelation that changed the human thought process once and for all!