The Universal Language: Mathematics or Music?
2017; RELX Group (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês
10.2139/ssrn.3069685
ISSN1556-5068
Autores Tópico(s)Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques
Resumoशिशुर्वेत्ति पशुर्वेत्ति वेत्ति गानरसं फणी । साहित्यरसमाधुर्यं शङ्करो वेत्ति वा न वा || śiśurvetti paśurvetti vetti gānarasaṁ phaṇī | sāhityarasamādhuryaṁ śaṅkaro vetti vā na vā ||The ultimate sweetness of music is understood and enjoyed even by an infant, even by an animal and even by a snake.Indeed, we do not know whether the erudite scholar can really enjoy the sweetness of the nectar of literature, musical lyrics and the arts.The popular belief in the scientific community is that, "Mathematics is the best way of expressing the universe ...". But perhaps there is another contender, a stronger one in fact, and that might be music. We discuss how music, across cultures and time, has been the constant message of hope and happiness. Possibly, music is present in our very genetic codes giving us an innate sense of rhythm and endowing the capacity for appreciation even to newborns. We show using simple logic (isn't logic a gift from the domain of mathematics?) that one day, once we understand both mathematics and music better, we might see both of them as the same language. Until then perhaps, we should consider supplementing mathematics with music, or even replacing it if necessary, depending on the extent of comprehension in the audience. The educational (and policy) implications are to ensure that the future creators of knowledge are equally adept at both music and mathematics. This dual capability would enable researchers to encode their findings in such a way that it can be appreciated by an audience larger than the following we presently have for the mathematical transmission of knowledge.
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