As one of the three basic subjects of K 12 education, mathematics has unparalleled influence and function, which can be roughly divided into the following four points:
First, the basic tool discipline
Since ancient sages, human beings have attached great importance to mathematics, from Pythagoras, an ancient Greek scholar, to Euclid's Elements of Geometry. From the "number" in the Six Arts of the Zhou Dynasty to China's mathematical treasure "Nine Chapters Arithmetic": It can be said that the development history of a mathematics is the development history of mankind. Human beings have used the measurement method of knot number since they knew nature, from bartering things to adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing money, to the history of human architecture, military affairs and economy (not to mention the closeness of economy and mathematics) and so on. It is no exaggeration to say that without mathematics, the world would not work.
Second, the bridge with other disciplines.
Mathematics is a tool discipline, which is the foundation of all science and engineering. Judging from the contention of a hundred schools of thought in China's Spring and Autumn Period, the theories put forward by Yin He, a Taoist Mohist, are inseparable from mathematics; In the European Renaissance and Enlightenment era, the emergence of a large number of mathematicians such as Newton, Euler and Gauss promoted the rise of many disciplines such as human physics, chemistry and biology. People understand the surface of the world by observing nature, but peek at the core and truth of the world through mathematical calculation. Accurate mathematical operation is the core of all science and engineering that promotes the progress and development of the world.
Third, the way to know the world.
From the birth of a baby, all human cognition is inseparable from mathematics. Needless to say, natural science knowledge, even humanistic knowledge, can be easily solved with mathematical ideas. For example, tell children not to run red lights. If, from a humanitarian point of view, it violates the moral and regulatory order, children will not listen. But according to mathematical thinking, running a red light will only save you a minute or two, but once an accident happens, you will have to stay in the hospital for a week or more. You can't eat Oreo Kebick, you can't watch Peggy the Pig, but you still have to do your homework. Of course, this is just a joke, but in reality, if you want to know something, do you want to tell you what it is, how good it is and how bad it is through descriptive language, or give you a detailed data report for your own judgment?
Fourth, the shortcut to exercise thinking
People often say that literature and history is a discipline to construct and exercise thinking, but from the perspective of mathematics, mathematics is a shortcut to exercise thinking. Why do you say that? For example, if you want to solve a practical problem, do you want to use your fingers to calculate, or solve an equation, or do a simulation on the spot, or do a mathematical modeling by sitting at home and clicking the mouse? It's mathematical thinking. Everything is tangible, but numbers are intangible. It is the best policy to control the tangible with the invisible.