NORFOLK, Neb. – Mathematics intrigue Stacey Aldag.
And odds are -- because of her interest and the way she views the discipline -- others at least find it more interesting than they did before the Northeast Community College math instructor talked about it recently.
Aldag, who has been teaching mathematics for 34 years, including 16 at Northeast, was the final speaker in this semester’s Hawk Talks. Her talk was titled, “If not mathematics, then what?”
Based on her talk and examples she used, it is evident that Aldag finds the sum is greater than the parts – at least when it comes to numbers. And that includes applying mathematics to other disciplines.
“I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about something that I am passionate about,” Aldag said. “I realize through my education and teaching and learning, not everyone learns the same.”
As such, Aldag provided visuals along with her lecture. She also included interactive opportunities for mathematics, which just about all students refer to simply as “math.”
Aldag demonstrated that there are countless practical applications for math, which is likely how the discipline was created centuries ago. Whether it was for commerce, such as measuring units of grain, or counting the days when seasons changed, or using measurements for construction, math and its uses continue to evolve.
Her talk also covered the beauty in discipline that numbers bring. Women were included in some of the early giants in mathematicians, including Hypatia around 400 A.D. and Ada Lovelace, who died in 1852.
Finally, math can be entertaining as well as useful. Disciplines like statistics prove that numbers and percentages offer a better prediction of future reality than most people’s intuition.
Need proof? Aldag asked how many people it would take to be in a room for at least two people to have at least a 50% chance of having the same birthday. Many people guessed more than 100, including one guess of 365 – the number of days in a year.
But with just 23 people – about the same number of people who were at the lecture – there would be at least a 50% chance that at least two people had the same birthday, she said.
Aldag noted that everyone hears things differently, which accounts in part for how some people perceive math. Not everyone enjoys it and that’s OK, she said. Some find it challenging to wrap their minds around how something that appears to them as abstract can be practical.
Aldag has master’s degrees from both Wayne State College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her master’s from UNL is in Numbers Theory and Statistics.
She noted that one person who combined various disciples was Donald Clifton, an American educator and researcher, who was born in Nebraska in Butte. Clifton also developed “CliftonStrengths,” which focuses on how to help people based on their strengths rather than their weaknesses.
Clifton served in World War II, flying a B-24. His group had more than 30 successful flights.
“He wanted to help people after he came home from the war. His question was, ‘What would happen if we studied what is right with people versus what is wrong?’” Aldag said.
And based on answering 100 questions in an assessment, Clifton found everyone has 34 strengths in varying levels. In particular, his focus was on individuals’ top five strengths.
So what are the odds that two people have the same top five strengths in order, Aldag asked. It is only one in about 33 million, making everyone unique.
People who know their top strengths and get coached are six times more likely to be engaged in their job and three times more likely to say that they have an excellent quality of life, she said.
Aldag said she has found there to be a lot of practicality from CliftonStrengths, and it shows how math can be applied to other subjects.
It is just one of many examples in which people can count on math as a way they can take away a benefit from numbers.
Fun with Numbers
Stacey Aldag, who has been teaching math at Northeast Community College for 16 years, discusses the origins of math during a recent Hawk Talks. (Northeast Community College)
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