Comment The usefulness of math (Score 1) 1086
Learning math is like adding an extra tool to your toolbox.
You may never need to use it, but one day, you may come across a problem which you cannot solve or understand, unless you have that tool in your toolbox. You may need to dust off the tool a little, but it is still there, and you can use it.
Personally, I ran into a few instances in business where I had to answer some seemingly basic questions. And without a background in Calculus, I would have never been able to understand it, or to see a more elegant solution.
For example, a coworker shared a problem with me once. If a customer adopts our software product across their enterprise, how long will it take for the customer to get their return on investment (ROI)? This is useful as a sales tool to help convince customers to invest in our product to help make their business more efficient.
This was a problem that I solved using Excel. But I had to use brute-force to solve it, and I created over 1000 lines of formulas to find my answer. Not very elegant, but it worked.
However, I noticed a pattern in the Excel formulas. And the only reason, was because it seemed similar to a math problem I studied in Calculus II, about Series and Sequences.
I found my old Calculus book from college, dusted it off, and re-studied Series and Sequences. Then, I was able to create a solution to my problem using a simplified math formula. Success!!
Next, I plugged in my new math formula into Excel. Now, I was able to solve my problem and model it across different variables. I could modify each variable independently to identify when the customer would achieve their ROI, based on different circumstances.
So, you may not always use Calculus everyday, but one day, it will be a life-saver. And you get to be the hero for your team.