Value of Mathematics

We were talking the other day and someone said that most people never use mathematics beyond the regular adding and subtracting and occasionally multiplying and dividing. The discussion drug on and a couple of the guys said that only basic math should be taught — higher math courses, for most people, were probably pretty much useless. Well I disagreed with that opinion — math wasn’t my favorite subject, but I didn’t mind it. In fact I still remember some of it.
So as a public service, I offer you something I learned in a mathematics class many years ago…
Tree crickets sing in exact mathematic ratio to the temperature of the air. You don’t need a thermometer on a summer night. Just count the number of chirps a cricket makes in 15 seconds, add 40 and the result will be the current air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
— 30 —