The Story of Mathematics (5D14)

Date: 17/03/2026

Good morning, Principal, teachers, and fellow schoolmates.

 

No matter whether we love it or secretly hate it, all of us have had to learn mathematics. From the moment we first counted on our fingers in primary school to the moment we struggled with quadratic equations in secondary school, maths has been an unavoidable part of our lives. But have you ever stopped to wonder: where does all this maths actually come from? Who invented the algebra we solve, the geometry we draw, or the calculus we dread?

 

Today, I want to take you on a journey through time by introducing a fascinating book titled The Story of Mathematics. This book does something remarkable: it traces the entire history of mathematical development, from the very first time humans carved a tally mark on a bone, all the way to the abstract world of limits, differentiation, and infinite series.

 

Many of us think of maths as a dusty set of rules written in a textbook. But this book reveals that maths is really a grand human story—a story of curiosity, survival, and discovery.

 

Let’s start at the very beginning: the origin of numbers. Long before there were coins or calculators, early humans needed to count their livestock or track the phases of the moon. So, they invented numbers. In Mesopotamia, the Sumerians developed a base-60 number system around 5000 years ago. Sound familiar? That’s why we still have 60 seconds in a minute and 360 degrees in a circle. Maths, from its very birth, was born from human needs.

 

As I read further, one thing became incredibly clear: mathematics is not just an abstract exercise. It is the hidden language behind almost everything we rely on today. From the book, I understood how mathematics is applied in the sciences which are indispensable to our modern world.

 

For example, we often joke that the only maths we need in adult life is calculating change at the supermarket. And yes, maths can be used to calculate grocery bills. But it can also be used to create the wonders of the world. The ancient Egyptians didn’t have computers or CAD software, yet they built the Great Pyramids—structures so precisely aligned they still stand today. How did they do it? They used slope and trigonometry. By understanding the ratio between the rise and the run, they could cut stones at perfect angles and ensure that the massive structure pointed directly to the stars. Without maths, the pyramids would just be piles of rubble.

 

The book then moves to the story of Nicholas Copernicus. In the 16th century, everyone believed the Sun revolved around the Earth. But Copernicus had a radical idea: what if the Earth revolved around the Sun? He couldn’t just declare it; he had to prove it. And his tool of choice was again trigonometry. By using geometric models and mathematical calculations of planetary positions, he laid the groundwork for the heliocentric theory. Maths gave him the power to redraw the entire universe.

 

Perhaps one of the most mind-blowing chapters in the book is the one on infinity and calculus. Before Newton and Leibniz, people could measure a straight line or a simple square easily. But what about an irregular object? What about a cannonball, or a curved lake, or a cloud? How do you measure the volume of something that isn’t a perfect shape? The answer is calculus. By imagining that a curved shape is made up of an infinite number of infinitely thin slices, mathematicians found a way to calculate its volume. This idea—the concept of the limit—opened the door to modern physics, engineering, and even space travel.

 

So, who invented maths? The answer the book gives is: nobody, and everybody. Maths wasn’t "invented" by a single person on a single day. It was discovered and built upon by different civilizations across millennia—the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Indians, the Persians, and the Europeans—each adding a new layer to the story.

 

In conclusion, The Story of Mathematics changed the way I see this subject. Maths is not just a test score or a homework assignment. It is the thread that connects the pyramids of Giza to the rockets that go to Mars. It is the reason we understand the stars and can build the bridges we cross.

 

Next time you sit in a maths lesson, instead of seeing it as just a subject, how about trying to see it as a story—a 5000-year-old story that you are now a part of?

 

Thank you.