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Can anyone name a few unlikely applications for mathematics?

I'm trying to think of situations where most people would not expect maths to be at all relevant... Any ideas?

Well, you could differentiate to find find the rate of comments about religion appearing on TSR with relation to time or even use advance trigonometry to calculate your chance of getting into Oxbridge with 15 A*s at A Level. :cool:

Edit: The 1st scenario is actually a possible application of maths. Shows that you can apply it to pretty much anything in many different ways if you really wanted to.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

sugar-n-spice

Folding of proteins in biology.

Reply 3

Joinedup

Original post by Derp96

I'm trying to think of situations where most people would not expect maths to be at all relevant... Any ideas?

ecology - population modelling.

Most people on tsr probably think ecology is hugging trees.

Reply 4

Brit_Miller

I used maths (graph theory) to solve the Final Fantasy 13-2 clock puzzle. :biggrin:

Reply 5

placenta medicae talpae

Tying knots (knot theory).

Reply 6

Ateo

There are many obvious situations where mathematics is absolutely unnecessary, but which can be mathematically described. I can think of plenty of examples of such situations but none in which mathematical description is impossible or irrelevant.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

davros

Back in the 1970s they were trying to use a topic called Catastrophe Theory to try to predict when prison riots would occur!

Reply 8

ashleighgiles

I usually use math to calculate the largest slice of pizza or pie there is on the table :tongue:

Reply 9

Derp96

Original post by Giant

Edit: The 1st scenario is actually a possible application of maths. Shows that you can apply it to pretty much anything in many different ways if you really wanted to.

Not really sure how trigonometry could be used to calculate your chance of getting into Oxbridge... but then again, who am I to argue with someone who seems to be implying that they got 15 A*'s at A-level :wink:

Reply 10

TenOfThem

Finding out if twitter users are happy

http://weusemath.org/?p=1744

Reply 11

rbnphlp

For making chicken tikka masala

(You need maths to measure the ingredients )

Reply 12

hello calum

Original post by Derp96

I'm trying to think of situations where most people would not expect maths to be at all relevant... Any ideas?

Well advanced number theory stuff which mathematicians did just for 'fun' (which people would say "there will never be an application for this abstract stuff! It's a waste of time") was used to develope public key cryptography and computer stuff.

Here's the story of the man who specialised in an 'unapplicable' area of mathematics and found an application: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Cocks

edit: just re-read the question. I may have answered it completely wrong :L

Reply 13

LeeMrLee

I think a better question to consider would be, where would maths not be able to be applied? off the top of my head, I can't think of anything that maths is not applicable to o.O

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 14

516359

Original post by Derp96

I'm trying to think of situations where most people would not expect maths to be at all relevant... Any ideas?

In my ucas as a joke I said "a protracter can be used to measure the angle of trajectory in angry birds" - the guy who interviewed me said he loved it! I was afraid I shot myself in the foot there but he said that's what made it memorable. :tongue:

Ratios in cooking is another one.

Reply 15

ian.slater

A criminal trial is essentially a hypothesis test: Is there sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis of innocence at the significance level of 'beyond all reasonable doubt'?