Why Math is Important

If you're in or went to high school, you're familiar with the phrase "When am I ever going to use this?" when talking about pretty much anything you learn in math class. This is the answer to that question. The real answer, not something like "one day a stranger might point a gun to your head and ask you to recite the quadratic formula".

Hi! I'm Jade. I'm an Aussie with a Bachelor's degree in Applied Physics. After three years and over 100 lab sessions, I realized I'm terrible at experiments. So now I make physics and maths videos on YouTube :) Check out my channel and subscribe if you like:

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[TheManolis]

Math would be amazing if they werent taught that way. If they were taught as part of actual physical examples. I am a mechanical engineer, I use math every day at work, but i always hated them with a passion.

[WordsFromTheMuck]

As an English teacher, I get the, "When will I need this" question a lot. And it's just like you're saying: in a sense they won't. They won't need to chart out plot or solidify their ideas for the theme of a work, but just like you're saying for math, these skills will enhance their lives. The world becomes a richer environment for us to live in when we know how it is put together and how it works. Great video. Thanks for getting people to think. I love it.

[Pete-Prolly]

If someone asks you "when are you ever going to use this?" Proudly say: "Never! But... I am soooo damn great at it!"

[Phrenotopia]

My teenage daughter asked me the same question many months ago and, despite my background in science, I was stumped! Of course, I knew that you need it for science if you wanna go that direction, but what if you don't? This video really nails it: It helps you getting into the habit of thinking in a systematic way! And then to think I have been saying the same thing about studying at university for years!

[ScienceAsylum]

Great vid!! I loved the intro bit with the chalkboard and the take-away message :-) Also, the faint spotlight you added to the background has added a lot of depth to the shot. Huge improvement!

[vger]

Some math is oké, but I still don't know why I had to learn so much about integrals, differentials, and last but not least about 30 rules concerning the use of sinus, cosinus and tanges. On the other hand, some statistical arithmatic made me a lot wiser.

[kenahoo]

I love this video and the case you present. I completely agree.

When I hear the same question, I also like to point out that a HUGE amount of the things we learn in school are not going to be directly required on the job or "on the streets." For example, right from kindergarten we learn things like how to color in the lines, how to play a xylophone, and how to string beads on yarn. I've never had a job that required any of these things, nor has someone "walked up to me on the street" (as students like to put this scenario) and demanded I demonstrate one of these things. Yet these lessons are excellent ways to develop skills as a child and become a more capable and practiced full human being.

[busyrand]

Fantastic practical explanation! Math is a fully immersive and reflective discipline that is unmatched, and can be applied to anything. I find myself wanting to circle back to things I didn't understand so that I can develop more as a thinker.

[Socratica]

Math as mental exercise is a great motivator. Use it or lose it!

[ProfessorPolitics]

So I definitely used to be one of those "when am I ever going to use maths" people. Fast-forward a few years and I'm reading papers based on set theory and working my own piece that looks at a messy mix of maths and stats towards a general theory of Congressional roll-call votes. I'm never going to be a full-blown mathematician or statistician but, by learning the logic underlying those fields, I'm a much better social scientist, educator, and consumer of information. And, also, math and physics is also just pretty dang cool-- as many of your videos easily points out.
This collaboration was a lot of fun! I'm really enjoying going through and checking out everyone's videos!

[BlackJar]

Math can be very useful in programming, at least some kinds -- game programming is especially math heavy. I use a lot of math to mod Minecraft (especially algebra, geometry, set theory, and graph theory), and even have used even more when tinkering with making my game or engine (then the calculus and linear algebra come into play) -- not to mention that algorithms fundamentally are math and designing them is also what makes programming fun.

[toothpastehombre]

This is now my favorite video of yours. True noble work you are doing with your channel! Much love

[michelgent]

I taught for years math quite successfully. And have a degree in physics.

I highly disagree. The logic of math should be taught, not the endless useless drills and exercises.
It can very much be done, but schools would have to completely change their curriculum

[frederic]

Great video, again 😄
The problem with maths is that it takes a lot to become fluent enough to use it as a « natural tool », without even thinking, but when you can do it, it is very powerful, allowing you to easily recognize trends and patterns and even more, to formalize them like : « uh, this behaves like an exponential » and to think further (what can possibly be the reason for this particular behavior).

[whocares]

You are so expresive explaining these concepts, great content as always.

[davidbrown]

So nice to be able to enjoy a a math/science documentary without being distracted by unnecessary, annoying background music - therefore I will subscribe. 
Thank you for your informative, enjoyable lecture Jade - please keep it up.

[jayjacob]

This is one of those rare videos I'm going to show my kids when they are just old enough for the message to sink in. Thank you for your awesome videos!

[gruntslayer]

Honestly calc 2 and diff eq were my favorite classes and Ik those aren’t super high level math classes but it was just very interesting to learn all those processes for solving

[AvenMcM]

The soccer analogy is perfect. Great video, as always!

[MrJimbissle]

Well said. I have found myself using things I didnt even realize I had learned in school. Its a shame we have lost so much curiosity, as a group. Life is so much richer when you keep asking questions.