Why Math?

Music vs Acoustics and a piece of music vs noise

Many students often ask me, “Why do I have to study mathematics?” or “Mathematics is so boring. How can you still enjoy it?”
 

I have answered my students’ questions many times with an analogy: What is the difference between music and acoustics? What is the difference between a piece of music and a noise?
 

If you look at or read a theorem and have no idea what it is for or where it comes from, then to you, it is nothing more than noise—something like pollution that should be avoided.
 

But if you understand that the theorem is a key to solving useful problems in science or in everyday life, then it becomes like a beautiful piece of music—something that can captivate and move the human mind.