Beauty, creativity and… maths? Most people do not associate being creative and expression with mathematics, when speaking of creativity, we predominantly look to visual art, music and dancers which I believe is a huge misunderstanding of the essence of mathematics. Mathematicians find patterns in the most mundane places and occurrences as well as finding purposes for them. I find that to be both fascinating and creative.
I chose to pursue maths only in my second year of university, before then I was unsure of which science major I should declare. Despite this fact I had unknowingly been entranced by mathematics in primary school without realising it. I said all the usual things you often hear school students say, such as expressing a vehement disliking to the upcoming maths class and tests, all while actually enjoying maths classes more than any others. I soon realised in high school that this was just me mindlessly agreeing with others and not admitting that I actually enjoyed seeing how equations, a few x’s and y’s could describe … shapes? The more we look at the connections between what is viewed as maths, complicated and ‘hard equations’ to the visual plots of them and see how they can capture movement and trends the more interesting and amazing the equations become.
I have always been curious and asked questions much like any young children would, I found that my father had a tendency to give long and scientific answers to most of my questions instead of dismissing them which fuelled my interest in science. I enjoy having questions about the world and a way to make sense of how things work or why things happen. Much like artists who try to make sense of the world through movement, song or pencils, I find geometrical shapes and equations to be beautiful in the way they capture a part of the world. Creating and discovering patterns is exciting and gives people a unique feeling of wonder and satisfaction that I find hard to recreate in other situations. For creative and curious people, I believe mathematics is truly an outlet to express how one sees the world and find answers.
Sona Reddy
UNSW
