Operands and Operators in Our Life
Can mathematics help us understand Life? Yes. Let me tell you how it works. Assumptions and Facts “Why should I learn all these formulae if I can make do with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division? What is the use of algebraic equations?” I asked myself after a challenging quadratic equation class in school. It was a natural response from a student not so bright in mathematics. Learning mathematics was like walking into a minefield without knowing where one was headed and why. With every passing day, the lessons got more brutal. I think we started linear equations in the 9 th or 10 th standard, and with it, my association with the omnipresent yet ever-elusive ‘x’ . Initially, we got equations with a single ‘x.’ We graduated to creating equations with one or more ‘x’ from a given problem statement. Interestingly, all the statements of problems revolved around silly situations in life. At times, we were determining someone’s age, height, weight, or...