Have you ever asked what going out for dinner, choosing a shampoo or planning a holiday all have in common? You’ve guessed it: maths.
Numerical and logical thinking play a part in each of these everyday activities, and many others. A good understanding of maths in everyday life is essential for making sense of all the numbers and problems life throws at us.
For instance;
On looking down at the menu during a dinner, you eye up the price the restaurant owner has worked out on how much she needs to charge for her food by creating a business model detailing the cost of a raw ingredient, staff wages, how many customers she expects on. Seeing this you know it is good since many restaurants fail within their first year because of poor mathematical planning.
Having placed your order, you’d better hope that the chef has a good grasp of maths because, understanding measurement, ratio and proportion can be the difference between something delicious and something that ends up in the dustbin.
After the dinner, you check whether the waiter added everything up correctly, being able to perform quick mental calculations will get it sorted in no time-and percentage help with leaving a tip!
I believe you’ll agree with me that washing your hair isn’t exactly rocket science, but with so many shampoo out there, it can be difficult to decide which to use. You probably just pick one and stick to it, but advertisers often use statistics to get to you to switch brands. For instance;
A typical advertising claim might be ’80 percent of people prefer our shampoo to their old one’-but what does that actually mean? In what way did they prefer it? What about those who didn’t like it?
Without knowing how many people were surveyed and what they were asked, this claim doesn’t really say much.
When it comes to statistics, the questions are just as important as the answers.
And let’s say the advertisement worked and you decide to buy some new shampoo. You can get a 250ml bottle for $4 or a 400ml bottle for $5.50 , but which is better value? Just as with settling the restaurant bill, mental maths is incredibly helpful for getting a good deal.
A glimpse into the history of mathematics shows that multiple competencies propel mathematical discovery, e.g;
Posing interesting questions
Making astute connections
Representing ideas clearly
Developing logical explanations
Working systematically
Extending ideas
All this are vital mathematical competencies.
In conclusion, you will also agree with me that it is impossible to get through a day without using maths in some way, because our world is full of numbers to handle and problems to solve. Studying the maths in everyday life provides you with the tools to make sense of it all, making life that little bit easier.
So dear steemitians, I ask you again ‘what does maths say about you in your daily decision making’?
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