Name: Josh Richardson M.

Malabosa
Course, Year & Section: BSEd SocStud 1-1

Synthesis of Ian Stewart’s, ‘Nature’s Numbers’

In the complexity of mathematics, there must be a common

ground where we all meet, and through reading Ian Stewart’s
‘Nature’s Numbers' published in 1995, I think now I know where
everything must have something in common, and it is nature. There
are multiple intelligences advocated and elaborated by many
professionals, that we must have a medium where we excel. And for
others it is the analytical and logical aspect, that is
mathematics and sciences. But despite having its complexities,
there is a humbling origin of how simple mathematics is. Stewart
makes the argument that mathematical theory typically begins with
the immediate and straightforward and gets progressively more
intricate. This is due to a fundamental methodology used in many
branches of mathematics. Which is that “you have to start
somewhere”. 
Nature’s Numbers start with patterns, “The Natural Order”,
in nature, inherent patterns are visible in everything from trees
to waves, symmetries, spirals, fissures, and stripes. The author
explores the impact of mathematics on modern society. It trains
us on how mathematics permeates our world without us even
perceiving it, how to employ mathematics to analyze certain
circumstances, how to apply mathematics in our surroundings, and
on how to embrace mathematics out of its initial breakthroughs
towards the present. We reside in a world saturated with
patterns. It arises and coincides with us human beings. It could
either be observed by the naked eye or instruments with
technological advancements like a microscope or magnifying glass.
We are unknowingly surrounded with natural patterns in the forms
of fauna and flora. The stripes of zebras and tigers, the
repeating patterns in giraffes, spirals of a snail’s shell, the
symmetrical and mirroring design of butterflies to the landforms
in dunes or the waves of the ocean. In different forms, shapes
and sizes we are bombarded with patterns that are nature’s
numbers. But the word ‘number’ does not have any immutable, God-
given meaning. (p.42)
Stewart states that, “Numbers are the most prominent part of
mathematics, and everyone is taught arithmetic at school, but
numbers are just one type of object that mathematics is
interested in.” Stewart also outlines the invention of whole
numbers, and then of fractions. There are different facets and
wonders of numbers from the invention of zero, discovery of
square roots, integers like whole numbers also known as natural
numbers, the combination of both which led to rational numbers to
the differentiation of real numbers and complex numbers. Numbers
have lots of dimensions and proportions. But it doesn’t only
focus on that only, numbers don’t advance or progress without the
feature of operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division. By integrating numbers and operations, mathematics
helps people grasp the implications of each pattern. Simplifying
complex issues into measurable, unbiased solutions is the purpose
of mathematics. The phenomena and patterns of the world are
rendered more logical by mathematics. Humans have an innate
tendency to recognize and value structured objects, especially
patterns. 
According to Ian Stewart's book "Nature's Numbers," Two of
the main things that maths are for are 1. providing the tools
which let scientists understand what nature is doing 2. providing
new theoretical questions for mathematicians to explore further.
These are handy rules of thumb for distinguishing between,
respectively, applied and pure mathematics. Mathematics is how we
classify or distinguish objects or patterns, as Nature's Numbers
revealed. We wouldn't be able to appreciate the magnificence of
things like animal patterns, water waves, rainbow lines, and many
other elements without mathematics. Math is a task we undertake
every morning as we get out of bed, consequently we could not
simply set it aside in our lives. Indeed, since the dawn of time,
we have embraced mathematics.
With that said, as he started the masterpiece from the
implications of simple patterns from the environment to the
justification of how change is the constant contributor for the
advancement of mathematics and its essential role in the
innovation of society from discoveries of theories to the
different facets of education like engineering, architecture and
technology which result to the transformation of civilizations. 

References:
Stewart I. (1995). “Nature’s Numbers”. 

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