Why is it important that someone on this planet understands the geometry of a triangle?

Pity poor geometry or, for that matter, you can pity mathematics in general as people have a tendency to dismiss these subjects because they have too literally an opinion of it. They assume math is a concept that begins and ends in a classroom. Of course you have probably heard the words "Why do I need to study math when I never use it?" and one of the most maligned subcategories of learning math is learning triangle geometry. Right triangles. Obtuse triangles. Dissecting triangles. When do you ever use this stuff? Well, you use it all the time but often don't notice it and when you develop a deeper understanding of triangles a tremendous wealth of information opens to you.

In fact, the depth of the value of triangle often extends to areas most people would never even dream of. For example, did you know that triangles form the basis of a number of martial arts? Ok, that statement probably got your attention so let's explain it. In the Indonesian martial art of Silat (Silat means fighting) the art is based around impacting an opponent of the weakness of the triangular base the body uses to stand. When you disrupt the triangle at a weak point, it becomes difficult to stand up! So, this is an entire martial art based around triangles and it is a lot easier on the body than breaking boards like in karate!

If the above example shows anything it would be the fact that triangles play a far greater role than most people think. This is why triangles have long since been studied by cultures and civilizations. If one looks at ancient history it becomes clear that the Ancient Egyptians and the Greeks spent a great deal of time learning the sophisticated aspects of the geometry of the triangle because it was the basis of much of their engineering and science. These ancient cultures realized that triangles possessed a great deal of value that was transferable to a number of other disciplines.

There simply is an incredibly vast amount of information that we have derived from the study of the triangle and, quite honestly, even after many thousands of years of study there is still more to learn from the study of the triangle. In fact, it is often through the study of the triangle in particular that much is revealed about the rest of the realm of geometry.

In studying the geometry of triangles a great many professional careers open to you. There are a great many careers that require a solid foundation in geometric skills and developing a high level of skill in this area will make your ability to succeed in these careers far more likely. Now, some careers are fairly obvious such as engineering but there are those careers that are not so obvious such as figure skating. Yes, if you look at it closely many movements in figure skating involve dissecting the angles of a triangle.

There really is no limit to the information and applications found within understanding a triangle. This is why a clear understanding of the basic concepts is critical. No, you do not have to take a college level course in geometry in order to be a figure skater and you wouldn't need a high level of geometric skill to perform a number of skills based on principles found in the geometry of a triangle. However, if you have an understanding of the basic concepts of triangle you will have a much clearer understanding of those principles than someone who lacks an understanding of the concepts.

Why Is Math the Only True Universal Language?

There are thousands of languages in the world today. Yes, thousands! Besides English, you might already speak Spanish and you know that different countries speak their own languages. But within a country, there can still be tribes in remote areas that speak a language of their own. These people need a translator who knows both languages in order to communicate with the world outside their village.

We have no idea how many languages have been spoken in the history of civilization. Archaeologists continue to find artifacts of lost civilizations from thousands of years ago. Consider Egyptian hieroglyphics where the Egyptians used pictures instead of letters as their written language. Archaeologists are still trying to decipher what these pictures mean.

The Romans left us writings in their language, which is Latin. One interesting fact about Latin is that no one really knows how to pronounce the words like the Romans did. People today agree upon how we should pronounce the words but there aren't any Romans left to teach us how they pronounced the words themselves.

Throughout history every separate group of people have devised their own language. It's only been in recent decades that there has been so much travel around the world and people from different parts of the world are talking to each other like never before. Perhaps some day, everyone on earth will speak a common language.

But the title above claims that math is the only true universal language! How can that be? Right now you should know about two ways to represent numbers, as Roman numerals and as Arabic numbers. Plus, people in other countries use different symbols for numbers. With all these different symbols, how can math be a universal language?

Math is a universal language because the principles and foundations of math are the same everywhere around the world. Ten plus ten equals twenty if you write it as Arabic numerals 10 + 10 = 20 or Roman numerals X + X = XX. The concept of 20 items is the same no matter where you are in the world.

And, what about geometry? A circle is always a circle and its circumference is always calculated the same way no matter where you are in the world. The same holds true for any other geometric figure like triangles, squares or rectangles.

We like to visit other countries to experience new scenery, new foods and a different culture. It's fun to watch documentaries about festivals that we don't have in North America. There is a great deal of cultural diversity in the world that we can enjoy and celebrate. But math is one thing that is common to everyone.

Different countries use different units of measurement; for example, the United States and the United Kingdom use inches and feet while the rest of Europe uses metric measurements of centimeters and meters. But no matter what the units are, everyone must measure the house that they are building. Houses everywhere, whether they are square, rectangular or round, are built using the same mathematical equations.

The principles of probability are the same everywhere as well. The chance of rain in Guatemala might be greater than the chance of rain in the Sahara desert but probability works the same way. People around the world have different genetics but the probability of passing on genes to their children follows the same mathematical formulas.

It is easy to see that no matter how diverse different cultures are, math is one common language across the world. Take a few minutes to make a list of other ways that math is the universal language.