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A Synthesis of Ian Stewart’s Nature’s Numbers:

The Unreal Reality of Mathematics

Angelika L. Fermalan

Batangas State University – The National Engineering University

College of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design

Ged 102 – Mathematics in the Modern World

Professor Kent Andrew Carandang

September 27, 2022

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Ian Stewart's Nature's Numbers: The Unreal Reality of Mathematics (New York:
Basic Books, 1995) is a broad overview of the deepest insights in the world. It talks
about how Mathematics has influenced us today. It teaches us how mathematics is
literally all around us without us even realizing it, how to use mathematics to analyze a
situation, how mathematics is used in the real world, and how to appreciate
mathematics from its inception to the present. This book gives us a chance to see
nature from a mathematician's perspective, changing the manner in which we see the
universe. It is full of clues and information which can lead us to fully appreciate and
understand Mathematics in an easier and interesting way.

In chapter 1, I’ve learned that patterns are everywhere. From a smallest to

largest matter in the universe everything was in a form patterns which appears in almost
everything visible and even on the unseen matters. The movement of the stars in a
circle way across the night sky, stripes on zebras and tigers, number of seeds in the
head of sunflower, the shape of a snow flake, spots on leopard and hyenas and even
colored arcs of light adorn the sky in the form of rainbows all happen based on a
pattern. According to Ian Stewart (1995), “Patterns are basically numerical patterns,
geometric patterns, and movement patterns. It possesses utility as well as beauty. Once
we have learned to recognize a background pattern, exceptions suddenly stand out” (p.
3). With these naturality, we can derive solutions to modern and as well former
problems that will evolutionist our very own existence.

So what mathematics is for? According to Ian Stewart’s (1995), “Mathematics is

brilliant at helping us to solve puzzles. It is a more or less systematic way of digging out
the rules and structures that lie behind some observed pattern or regularity, and then
using those rules and structures to explain what’s going on” (p. 16). By the help of this
book I understand that Mathematics truly are around us. From simply recognizing
patterns of our surroundings, living and non-living things, to more complicated
construction of formulas and theories, we were able to understand a lot around us.
Because of the presence of mathematics, it served as an aid to expand the knowledge
of science and create different kinds of instruments to be able to know about the
heavenly bodies and how big the universe is. Math is used primarily for two purposes: 1.
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providing scientists with the tools they need to understand what nature is doing. 2.
generating new theoretical questions for mathematicians to investigate further. These
are useful guidelines for distinguishing between applied and pure mathematics

Numbers are the most prominent part of mathematics and everyone is taught
arithmetic at school, Ian Stewart (1995), “Numbers are just one type of object that
mathematicians think about” (p. 31). And I think that's right, because in Chapter 1 and 2,
I understand that Mathematics can be found in nature of patterns in regards to animals,
sea, trees and in any matter in the universe, there is Mathematics. But according to Ian
Stewart (1995), “Numbers are still the heart of mathematics” (p. 31), Since numbers
represent Mathematics, and it is used by many people. Mathematics helps us to
discover the beauty of nature by numbers, changing the way we view our world. As a
practical matter, mathematics is a science of pattern and order. Its domain is not
molecules or cells, but numbers, chance, form, algorithms, and change. As a science of
abstract objects, mathematics relies on logic rather than on observation as its standard
of truth, yet employs observation, simulation, and even experimentation as means of
discovering truth.

Everything in our universe creates an arrangement of information, and these

information variables interact or arrange follows mathematical rules. Newton made
several experiments about acceleration, motion and gravity. And it explains here that
even the motion of our universe is coordinated with Math. According to Ian Stewart’s
(1995), “Newton's insight was that although the position of the cannonball changes in
quite a complex way, its velocity changes in a much simpler way, and its acceleration
varies in a very simple manner indeed” (p. 50). It explains in detail what happens to a
cannonball fired from a cannon, and how Newton's fundamental law of FORCE=MASS
x ACCELERATION will be applied. As a result, I understand that Calculus was invented
to find solutions for moving bodies. The differentiation technique is used to determine
the rate of change, whereas the integration technique is used to "undo" the effect of
differentiation. Ian Stewart (1995) stated, “Newton’s basic insight was that changes in
nature can be described by mathematical processes” (p. 55). The physical laws for light,
sound, electricity, magnetism and the elastic bending of materials, the flow of fluids and
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the course of a chemical reaction are all equations. This Constants of Change teaches
us that that the route from nature's laws to nature's behavior does not need to be direct
and obvious by the help of Newton’s law of motion. Calculating rates of change is a
crucial aspect of math, engineering, cosmology and many other areas of science.

In chapter 5, it deals with a fascinating historical recap of the event happened a

long time ago. To which the pure and applied aspects of mathematics combine to yield
something far more powerful and compelling than either could have produced alone.
According to Ian Stewart’s (1995), “It begins at the start of the sixteenth century, with
the problem of the vibrating violin string (p. 62). As I read this chapter I understand how
initial investigations in the way a violin string vibrates gave rise to formula and
equations. Which proved useful in mapping electricity and magnetism, that further
managed to be aspects of the same fundamental force, understanding which
underpinned the invention of radio, radar, television, and etc. Mathematics is one of the
reasons why we have all the things that we are using nowadays. We should be thankful
for mathematics because if there is no mathematics we wouldn’t know if we could have
all the things that is used in our everyday life. Math's significance evolves throughout; to
an extent where these technologies can make our lives now more convenient.

Symmetry has a vital role in pattern formation. It is used to classify and organize
information about patterns by classifying the motion or deformation of both pattern
structures and processes. Ian Stewart’s (1995) stated “There are many kinds of
symmetry, and the most important ones are reflections, rotations, and translations.
These kinds of symmetries are less formally called flips, turns, and slides” (p. 75).
Symmetry is a mathematical concept as well as an aesthetic one, and it allows us to
classify different types of regular pattern and distinguish between them. Each object is a
new or different pattern with its own symmetry. Scientists regard symmetry breaking to
be the process of new pattern formation. Broken symmetries are important because
they help us classify unexpected changes in form. Through the process of symmetry
breaking, new patterns in nature are formed. It creates patterns that help us organize
our world conceptually. We see symmetry every day but often don't realize it. People
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use concepts of symmetry, including translations, rotations, reflections, and

tessellations as part of their careers.

According to Ian Stewart’s (1995), “nature is nothing if not rhythmic, and its
rhythms are many and varied. Our hearts and lungs follow rhythmic cycles whose timing
is adapted to our body's needs. Many of nature's rhythms are like the heartbeat: they
take care of themselves, running "in the background." Others are like breathing: there is
a simple "default" pattern that operates as long as nothing unusual is happening, but
there is also a more sophisticated control mechanism that can kick in when necessary
and adapt those rhythms to immediate needs” (Pg. 94). The rhythm of life makes me
realized that rhythms are everywhere, it is a pattern of movement or sound. In everyday
living, we encounter patterns, even inside our body exhibits a specific kind of pattern.
Heartbeat, our hearts beat with a pattern, we breath with a pattern, even if you hold your
breath enough for you to suffocate, there’s still a pattern.

I really don’t appreciate math back then. But when I start to read this book I
learned that from the moment you wake up to the time of your sleep, math is around
you. I thought before math is just a number that can help engineer’s accountant. It
amazes me that even in music, and technology math involve itself. Mathematics, as a
tool, is immensely useful, practical, and powerful. It allows us to perceive realities in
different contexts that would otherwise be intangible to us. It is our whole way to see
and understand the modern world. Without those mathematical theories, formulas, laws,
and even those influential scientists, we may not be able to gather answers for things
that are unknown or even things that are literally there for a purpose and we may not be
able to appreciate most, or rather everything about the secrets, mysteries, and clues of
our nature and everything around us. The book is asserting that mathematics is a
powerful tool in decision making and it is a way of life.
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Bibliography

Ian Stewart. (1995). Nature’s Numbers: The Unreal Reality of Mathematics.

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/sti-college/tour-and-travel-management/natures-
numbers-by-ian-stewart/24308069