Assignment 5 Madison Howard

Einstein once said “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” I think all would do well to remember this statement. It is truly a valuable skill to be able to articulate higher level work in terms of fundamental ideals that a layman could understand. I feel that a big reason that non-mathematicians do not like talking with mathematicians about math is because oftentimes, the topics seem convoluted, abstract, and difficult. This could contribute to the overall anxiety that seems to surround math.

When having conversations with others about math, we should make an effort to simplify what we are describing without seeming condescending and without losing the essence of the idea itself. I feel that people would be more receptive to conversations like this. It could also be a good idea to relate the fundamental mathematics to its real-world applications. People often ask “when will I ever need this again?” It seems that this question comes up more with math than other subjects. To be able to describe the mathematical groundwork in everyday life could strike the interest of someone who typically doesn’t like math. I feel that this could lead to more investment in math as people start to realize that math is necessary for progress.

Getting children to be interested in math and STEM early would likely lead to more government funding for STEM fields. As more people become interested in STEM, there will be more public pressure for the government to grant funding to these fields.