March 14 is International Day of Mathematics. To mark the occasion, three Clemson University mathematics professors share 10 ways math is used in daily life that might go unnoticed.
Protecting our data
Every time you unlock your phone, send a text message, shop online or log in to email and bank accounts, math is involved, said Ryann Cartor, an assistant professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences.
Cartor researches post-quantum cryptography, which enables secure communication and protects information from unauthorized viewing. Many of the ways we keep our information safe today will no longer be secure in a world with widespread quantum computing. Thus, post-quantum cryptographers study new cryptographic systems that could withstand attacks from both classical and quantum computers, ensuring our data remains protected well into the future.
Driving AI
“Cryptography plays a major role in everyday life, often without people realizing it,” she said.Driving AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform lives by improving health care, accelerating scientific discovery and boosting workplace efficiency.
Math is a major driver behind AI, Cartor said. The basics of linear algebra, which is the study of vectors, matrices and linear transformations, are foundational to this new technology. Without math, AI systems wouldn’t be able to learn from data or improve over time.
Making sense of MRIs
Andrew Brown, a professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, researches statistical analysis of neuroimaging data, including data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
“The volume, type and richness of information that modern MRI scanners can collect vastly outpace our ability to extract meaningful information from it,” Brown says.
For the past 20-25 years, scientists have been working to develop effective, efficient methods to connect imaging data with what’s happening in someone’s brain.
Making accurate predictions
Brown has also studied uncertainty quantification at Clemson, a field that examines how unknown factors in complex systems affect the reliability of scientific models and predictions.
Because many scientific models rely on incomplete information, researchers in this field work to measure how those gaps influence what scientists can confidently predict.
For example, a model used to forecast how a hurricane might move depends on many variables, such as ocean temperatures, wind speeds and atmospheric pressure. If any of those inputs are uncertain, the forecast can change. Uncertainty quantification helps scientists understand how much those unknowns could affect the prediction and how confident they can be in the model’s results.
Essential to research
Math plays a central role in many areas of science, from chemistry to psychology, which rely on statistics to analyze data, build models and interpret results, Cartor said. Without those tools, scientists would struggle to determine whether their findings reflect real patterns or random variation.
Music and math
Brown said he first became interested in math when he started learning music, mostly the guitar. That’s not surprising, considering both math and music involve similar skills of finding and applying patterns.
Mapping it out
Google Maps relies on mathematical concepts of graph theory, optimization and probability to get a person from point A to B, Brown said. Mathematics and statistics also work behind the scenes in many other everyday situations, from the algorithms Netflix or Amazon uses to make recommendations based on a user’s history to the statistical models used to evaluate professional athletes and predict their performance. Even political polls depend on math, using a statistical method called survey sampling.
Keeping your balance
Jim Coykendall, a professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, points to an example that is fundamental to everyday human life: balance.
“If you are a s sighted person, try a simple experiment,” he said. “Stand on one foot. You can probably do it for quite a while. Now try it again with your eyes closed. You’ll likely find it much harder and may start to lose your balance quickly.”
Geometry, vectors, feedback systems and differential equations all play a role in how the brain maintains balance.
Your eyes give the brain information about position in space, motion and orientation relative to objects. The brain uses this information to estimate angles of body tilt, velocity of movement and distance from vertical. When eyes are closed, a major data source disappears and the brain’s estimates are less precise. That makes it harder to keep the center of mass balanced.
Cooking, etc.
Cartor said math is also used in other areas of everyday life, including ratios and fractions used while cooking, painting, building and more. Logic, which she teaches in her class “Intro to Proofs,” is used in everyday life to build thoughtful arguments and statements in conversations.
