Mathematics: Behind the Signs and Symbols

An Essay for Math in the Modern World Class

In the field of communication studies, there are always four main domains being given focus: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Whenever you are trying to learn a new language, it is not enough that you just know how to interpret and translate it; you must be able to confidently utilize and integrate it into your everyday life.

We all know that mathematics is a system that we use practically every day in order to make sense and interact with the world around us. It helps us make decisions, solve problems, work creatively and so on. Given that we are human beings, we are psychologically capable of doing math mentally and on a whim. This ability is indeed incredible, and one could be classified as an instant genius just for the extent of his/her mental math skill. With this in mind though, it is important to remember that the human mind cannot function at maximum capacity just through sheer thought process alone. Sure, one can easily solve “one plus one” mentally, but imagine having to solve a set of numbers into the high thousands or millions. Similarly, imagine being an author without a pen, or an artist without a canvas.

The thing about math is that there are hundreds upon hundreds of different concepts, laws and theorems, and the human mind simply cannot remember or say them all “as is”. This is why mathematicians from the past decided to create symbols to represent the various units and concepts. These symbols didn’t just exist out of nowhere though; the people who designed them actually put thought into it. Did you know? The reason why the equal sign “=” is two identical parallel bars is because it represents how two objects or units are “the same” or balanced. This was precisely the thought mathematician Robert Recorde had when he first used it over 400 years ago.

There are many benefits we can derive from having symbols to represent math. It increases our efficiency, makes our thought process organized and helps us solve accurately. For instance, it is much easier to write “3x = 2(y+7)” instead of saying “Three times x is equal to two multiplied by the sum of y and seven”. Here, we no longer need to write down the entire thing because we already have symbols like “+, ( ,)” and etc. to represent the operations and numbers. One notable study of math that relies heavily on symbols is logic. Since logic problems present the user with propositions and the goal of finding the truth value, thorough analysis would be needed and it will be easy to slip up along the way. This is why various diagrams, tables and symbols representing propositions have been devised in order to streamline the process of solving. Logic uses symbols like “v, ->, ” and etc. to represent statements in a similar way to how greek letters like sigma are used to represent large calculations in statistics or how the sideways eightrepresents the concept of infinity. According to Rapid Tables, there are almost 400 commonly used mathematical symbols that cover numbers, basic operations, theorems, postulates, algebra, geometry, calculus, logic and everything in between.

Prior to moving on, it is worth noting that the language of mathematics also follows a syntax. A “syntax” is defined as an arrangement of words or symbols in a language. Notice how 2(x+3) is stated as “two times the sum of x and three” and not “two times x plus three”. Mathematics follows laws like PEMDAS to make sure that the symbols are written in the correct order and manner to prevent a wrong calculation. These small nuances prevent both the writer and the interpreter from making mistakes when solving problems. Think of this as the “grammar” of mathematics.

Taking all of the above into mind, we are now able to paint a bigger picture of mathematics beyond what we previously thought it was. Similar to how English has its latin alphabetic symbols, or how Japanese has Kanji and Katakana, math in itself is a language system with its very own special quirks that assist us in using symbols to represent real concepts and make sense of the mysterious world around us. For some, just knowing how to do math is enough, but personally, I do believe there is some utility in understanding the origin of the way things are. Understanding deeply how the quirks of math as a language works can give a greater sense of understanding as to how “everything is connected” in the world, and how you are deeply ingrained into its very existence as well.

Sources and Citations

● Mathematical Symbols List (n.d.) Rapid Tables. Retrieved from https://www.rapidtables.com/math/symbols/Basic_Math_Symbols.html on Feb. 15, 2021

● “Syntax” (n.d.) Oxford Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100547813 on Feb. 15, 2020

● The Science of Linguistics (2020) Linguistics Society of America. Retrieved from https://www.linguisticsociety.org/what-linguistics on Feb. 15, 2021

● Tindol R. (1997) Origin of the Equal Sign; Caltech Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/question-week-who-invented-equal-sign-and-why-17 1#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20VNR%20Concise,Edward%20VI%20and%20Que en%20Mary. On Feb. 15, 2021