Have you ever connected the fact that a mathematics problem has the elements of a great story?
What are the elements of a great story? Many would say that the only thing necessary for a great story is good characters and a clear problem. Well if math doesn't have that, then I don't know what does.
First, Characters:
What are the characters in math? There's you surely, the reader or observer, and there are numbers, variables, operators, postulates, and theorems, all coming together in a dance. The rules of the mathematical world are similar to the rules in our world. Just like a man cannot fly without a plane or device, a number cannot divide itself into zero groups or change. Yes, you heard me, there's no evolution in mathematics, which is one reason why the majority of mathematicians are not evolutionists. But, I digress.
When we solve a complex problem in mathematics, we are tasked with analyzing the characters in the story within their framework and making conclusions. It's very similar to analyzing the motives and actions of characters in a story. Why did Frodo take the ring to Mordor when it was impossible? Why is the square root of a negative number impossible?
These are the same types of questions, fueled by the same imagination, in parallel worlds both created by the imagination of God. Don't believe me? Math history shows that the first great theology, philosophy, and God-seeking thinkers were all mathematicians. Do you know why? Because in their pursuit of God, these ancient men stumbled over God's language, mathematics.
Second, Problem:
This one seems much more obvious. Math problems abound. There is always something to discover in mathematics. When did the two cars meet on the road? Where did the graph cross the axis? What two polynomials come together to create a third polynomial?
With our problems, we see the limitations of our characters, and the beauty of our world. We see the patterns in nature as a number sequence, and the graph of the sequence as a visual of the pattern. We have heroes, like the multiplicative identity, and villains, like subtraction. The mathematical world is teeming with life, let's dive into this great world together!
Great characters?
Intense problems?
Math has got it all.