A small essay on
"Why we do mathematics"
"Mathematicians are just like human beings. They don't enjoy adding up columns of numbers or balancing their checkbooks. They don't multiply 398 by 975 for fun. They do math because it makes life easier. Doing math is the easiest way to make sure that our bridges don't fall down or our airplanes don't crash"
I found this on one of the Life of Fred books. I typed it and taped it to my dd's computer. Most of the time she enjoys math, once in a while she doesn't. When that happens this small essay reminds her why it is important to know math.
