eJMT Abstract

Mathematics is vital not only in ordinary people’s everyday lives but also in the cutting-edge technology of the information age. Mathematics is everywhere, from counting objects to telecommunication and image processing. Unfortunately most mathematics in everyday life is invisible to many people’s eyes. This is partially because the mathematics used in technology is usually the deeper results of the ablest researchers in the field. The details of mathematics are even hard for mathematicians whose specialties are different from the materials used in the particular technology. The result is that mathematics is getting further and further away from the general public’s attention and is confined to specialists. Eventually this will undermine the whole enterprise. We mathematicians need to act against the public ignorance of mathematics.