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Math And Our Universe Essay

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Mathematics and Our Universe [The universe] cannot be read until we have learnt the language and become familiar with the characters in which it is written. It is written in mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word. Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) Mathematics is ubiquitous. Discovered or invented, it has been around since the beginning of time. Mathematics can explain the indescribable wonder of our cosmos. It is through mathematics that we are able to explore our universe. This essay will demonstrate how maths is an integral part of our universe and will attempt to show that mathematics might be the key to discovering the great unknown. In order to understand the role of mathematics and grasp the beauty of it in our world, we must first explain what mathematics really is and what it does. The majority of people would agree that mathematics is the study of numbers, but is it just that? According to Keith Devlin in his book “The Language of Mathematics - Making the Invisible Visible”, mathematics is the science of patterns. A pattern is a regular sequence discernible in the way in which something happens or is done (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Some examples of patterns include: patterns of shapes, symmetry, motion, numerical patterns, patterns of structure and patterns of sound (music). These

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