What IS Mathematics anyways?

For this post, we had to think about what math really is? To be honest, I had never really given thought to this question before just because math had always been a part of my school life and I never really wondered how I would define it. I found this wordle image, located to the right, on google relating to the different concepts surrounding the world of math. I thought it related well to my search of what exactly math is, what it means to do mathematics, and what may be happening when one is thinking mathematically. 

After giving much thought to the question, my definition of math goes like this: math is a study of numbers using formulas, different methods, and rules to obtain answers to problems, in turn helping people obtain greater problem solving skills. 

I thought it would be interesting to ask around to different people I knew about what they thought math was or what it meant to think mathematically.I asked a range of individuals who were in their fifties to high school students to primary/elementary students. Here are some of the responses they gave:

• a calculation of numbers
• study of numbers
• math is everything
• math makes the world revolve
• is used to educate people
• using formulae to calculate numbers or to find a value of something
• using numbers to solve problems and also keeping track of number values
• the calculation of numbers by using rules and formula in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• a bunch of formulas used to create things
• manipulating numbers in different ways to find new numbers and solve problems. 

It was eye-opening to me how a lot of the responses were very similar to one another, just worded in a different way.  They also voiced their opinion of how important math was in our lives and how difficult it would be to live day to day without using math in any form.

I researched many definition of math on the internet and the one that 

suited me the most was from the website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mathematics.

It defines

mathematics  (ˌmæθəˈmætɪks, ˌmæθˈmæt-)
— n
1.	( functioning as singular ) a group of related sciences, including  algebra, geometry, and calculus,concerned with the study of  number, quantity, shape, and space and their interrelationships  by using aspecialized notation
2.	( functioning as singular or plural ) mathematical operations  and processes involved in the solution of a problem or  study of some scientific field

I look forward to building on my knowledge of what mathematics is and what it means to be thinking mathematically.