“Pure mathematics is, in its way, the
poetry of logical ideas.”
“If America is to maintain our high standard of living, we must continue to
innovate. We are competing with nations many times our size. We don't have a
single brain to waste. Math and science are the engines of innovation. With
these engines we can lead the world. We must demystify math and science so that
all students feel the joy that follows understanding.”
~Dr. Michael Brown, Nobel Prize Laureate
In the 21st century, a vibrant democracy depends on the full, informed participation of all people. We have a vast and rapidly growing trove of information available at any moment. However, being informed means, in part, using one’s sense of number, shape, data and symbols to organize, interpret, make and assess the validity of claims about quantitative information. In short, informed members of society know and do mathematics.
Mathematics is indispensable for understanding our world. In addition to providing the tools of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and statistics, it offers a way of thinking about patterns and relationships of quantity and space and the connections among them. Mathematical reasoning allows us to devise and evaluate methods for solving problems, make and test conjectures about properties and relationships, and model the world around us.