CHAPTER 1: Math as a Language, Propositional Calculus, Mathematical

Reasoning

Personally, Mathematics was never really one of my favorite subjects from

Elementary all the way up to Junior High School. I was really more interested in learning
about other languages such as Chinese and Filipino or even improving my English
language as I grew up. This lesson has made me realize that I needed to change my
perspective on how I perceive Mathematics. It is not purely numbers, data, and formulas
but it is almost exactly like learning the Chinese and Filipino language lessons in school.
Just like the Chinese language, it is not self-explanatory but learned in a good amount
of time. I have always thought of English as the main universal language that everyone
understands, but when I put it into perspective, almost every single person in the world
can solve basic mathematical problems. An example of this is knowing the answer to
“1+1” or even knowing how to apply proper addition when paying transactions anywhere
in the world. So if we were to apply our mindset of how we studied foreign languages to
the mathematical language, we would be more systematic and motivated to learn more.

I am also interested in the elements of mathematical language and how it utilized

letters from the English alphabet and applied them to their equations or “sentences.” For
example, the start of the alphabet such as A, B, and C are being used for constants,
while those at the end of the alphabet (X, Y, and Z) are being used for variables in
equations. Another thing that intrigued me was propositions in the English and
Mathematical languages. Both languages are the same in this aspect since both are
declarative sentences and they can both also be true or false. Some examples of
propositions could be “My phone has the color of blue” and “4+4= 8,” this is because
they fit the criteria of declarative sentences. I would say that propositions are being
used in my everyday life in conversations and sentences that I use.

I have also learned about the 3 types of fallacies including affirming the
conclusion, denying the hypothesis, and circular reasoning. I did a good amount of
research for me to avoid these certain fallacies in my daily life. To spot these fallacies
we should always look for bad proof and a disconnect between the proof and the
conclusion. These fallacies usually lead to confusion in our lives and problems and
need to be avoided as much as possible. One good example is saying that “I ate the
most food because I won the game.” This shows a disconnection between the proof and
the conclusion and will lead to utter confusion while begging numerous questions.

CHAPTER 2: Cryptography and “The Da Vinci Code”

The start of the chapter actually talked about how to communicate efficiently and
the importance of communication in our lives. I remember several instances wherein
miscommunication occurred and people were hurt emotionally because of the
miscommunication. To solve this issue you would need to know how to clearly send
your message in a way that all parties understand. Another instance where I can see
this communication lesson in my daily life is when there is a message that needs to be
sent to the receiver, and it would always have to go through a noise channel first. For
example, when hosting an event, as the speaker you would speak through the
microphone (whether through Zoom or an actual F2F event), the noise channel or
distraction could be the internet connection or it could also be a malfunction or feedback
from the actual microphone. Since I have a lot of experience in this field, I think it is
important to always have contingency plans for when the noise channels become
unbearable in professional settings.

As for “The Da Vinci Code” movie, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it because I

have high respect for Tom Hanks (his acting ability) and also how cryptography was
displayed several times in the movie. Before discussing cryptography in the movie, I
would like to highlight a quote from the movie that states “Understanding our past
determines our ability to understand our present.” This quote really intrigued me
because it shed some light on the importance of our history and knowing where we
came from. The first time in the movie that had something to do with cryptography was
when a message with numbers above it was shown in the early parts of the movie. The
message was “O, Draconian devil, Oh lame saint” and there were 10 numbers on top of
that message which was solved using the Fibonacci sequence, the actual message was
“Leonardo Davinci, The Mona Lisa.”

What really kept me intrigued throughout the entire movie was the history talk
about my Christianity (my religion) and also some familiar names such as Alexander
Pope and Sir Isaac Newton. The plot of the movie mainly concerned this one “Cryptex”
that was seemingly impossible to solve, and the scroll was eventually found using the
name “apple.” This even led to the discovery of one of the main characters being a
descendant of Jesus Christ himself and also a princess. Overall, I think it was a pretty
dark and interesting movie but it did have one quote that I think may be applied in all of
our lives. That quote is “Well, people rarely notice things right in front of their eyes,” and
this quote interested me as a lot of times we are so focused on the things happening in
our mind, that we tend to forget to focus on living in the moment.

CHAPTER 3: Game Theory and Social Sciences

Over quarantine, I gained the hobby of playing chess especially against my

brother and my family members. I remember also downloading an online chess
application called Chess.com which ignited my passion for the game even more. So,
when I first heard about the lesson of Game Theory, I immediately thought that we
would be mainly analyzing various board games like chess but it is actually very far from
that. Since I still had that passion for chess while studying for Game Theory, I would
always analyze the different concepts learned and see if the game of chess falls under
that specific category. It can be seen that chess is a sequential game as no two players
are allowed to move at the same time, and these same players may have to move
several times throughout the game. Another noteworthy characteristic of sequential
games is that they do not need to be actual games, and can be applied in real life
situations such as bidding at an auction or negotiating a business deal. Chess also falls
under the category of a game with complete information as all players are assumed to
know the structure of the game (especially in online games), the order of which the
different players move (Black and White pieces), and the payoffs for the various moves
that can be made throughout the game. Chess really intrigued me because of the
millions of moves that can be made, and the millions of positions that can be reached,
meaning that even if this game has been alive for hundreds of years, there will always
be new ways for this game to be played.

Now as for game theory applications in relevant situations around the world, it
would be vital that I also analyze the saddening situation of the Russia and Ukraine war
that has been going on for several months already. It can relate to game theory because
there are two opposing sides or two parties that are participating in this “game” or war
rather. Both opposing sides have various strategies on how to get an advantage over
the other side, and the response from that other side is also very crucial on how this war
will play out. An example in this situaiton would be the decision if Russia should deploy
more forces or not, or to make the decision to end this losing war for both parties. With
thousands of people dying due to the varying strategies being played by both sides that
is reaching National Television on a regular basis, they really need to find solid ground
for this war to settle down and for treaties to be formed. The best strategy, according to
game theory, is the strategy that produces the best payout or outcome. In this war
situation the best payout would be for the least amount of casualties or to just end the
war all in all.

As for social choices, I have never really been involved or active in any sort of
political standpoint, but I still found this topic very interesting as it constantly dealt with
voting and coming up with the best possible candidate in multiple scenarios. As for my
personal experience with voting, I had a lot of prior experience because in my
elementary to Junior High school years we would have an annual election for the class
Secretary, Vice-President, and President. The school imposed the plurality method
when doing these kinds of voting, meaning that whoever had the most votes would be
elected as that certain position. Personally, I remember being class President and
Secretary one time each, and it did add to my academic responsibilities.

Chapter 4: Consumer Math

 As for this last chapter of the reflection, what kept me interested in Consumer
Math is definitely the topics concerning investing and stocks. As of 2021, I was
convinced by my cousins and father to start investing in the PSEi market, it really
inspired me to continue trading until today. Some good tips that I was able to get from
the book include: only investing in companies that you fully understand and those
companies that you have already done extensive research on, and to also not fear
fluctuations in the prices of stocks. They really do fluctuate in price whether it increases
or decreases in value, and we should learn how to make informed decisions and not
trade based on emotion and feeling. Stock trading is essentially a game wherein you
would need to make calculated decisions based on relevant information to continuously
be making profit.

Chapter 5: Efficiency

In linear programming I was able to learn about graphing and making my own
equations based on the real-world problems. What I really find essential in this topic is
finding the feasible region which is also the solution to potential real-world problems.
Whether it would be knowing how to maximize profit or minimize costs, these would be
needed for corporations, start-up businesses, and even organizational events. The
transportation problems may be used in our lives to make our travels more efficient. For
example if we are from Makati and are needing a quick and cheap travel to DLSU Taft,
then we would need to analyze all possible options, but the most probable option would
be to take the LRT to minimize costs.

Chapter 6: Math in Nature and Arts

The first thing that surprised me when I saw that it can actually be applied in real
life is the fibonacci sequence. Aside from its application in the “Da Vinci Code” movie, it
can also be seen in tree branches that apply that same sequence. Aside from the
patterns and isometries, the symmetric patterns interested me the most. The reason for
that is because I found them to be the most aesthetically pleasing, especially the
Rosette and Frieze Patterns. I used to see these type of patterns on wallpapers in my
grandparent’s house or even various chinese restaurants. They could be on the ceiling,
flooring, and even carpets which really show its diverse use in the things around us.
This lesson made me more aware of my surroundings and how math really is
everywhere in nature and in arts.