Revisiting beauty in mathematics

By Jared Melton, Upper School Humanities & Math Teacher

In the history of academia, it can be said that one of the greatest letdowns is the loss of  beauty in mathematics. The language in which God wrote the universe was reduced from a thing of beauty and discovery to one of usefulness and practicality (McGivern). The American people must reclaim this lost beauty or else face the consequence of a dead language. 

Amidst the Industrial Revolution, mathematics equipped the upper class with the ability to create machines and mechanisms which produced the highest number of products at the fastest possible pace. The focus shifted to educating upper class children about the practicality of mathematics. Similarly, the Cold War sparked a secondary reformation of the education system. The launch of Russia's Sputnik I lit a fire under the American education system. The small loss in the space race forced a shift of focus to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses (STEM). NASA's personnel and budget were largely increased during this time. It was estimated that NASA's budget increased 500 percent, leading to the addition of over 400,000 workers to their projects (The Space Race). At the same time, the U.S. government increased student funding to those studying in the fields of mathematics, both for the sake of the space race, and for the advancement of the capitalist economy against the communists across the sea (Powell). John F. Kennedy included in his speech on May 25th, 1961, “[It is] time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth" (Ostovar). Math had officially become entirely, and exclusively, practical. 

Clearly, the American government set a great deal of importance on STEM. To see where God places his value, however, one must look to scripture. A common reference to mathematics is a subtle mention in Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (ESV). The psalmist comments on the beauty showcased in the night sky. 

Many of our ACA sixth graders spend dedicated time observing the night sky while taking an Astronomy course. Grayson Leedy, a sixth grader at ACA, commented that he would often go outside and stare at the stars before bed every night. This is exactly what the psalmist hoped for. "Consider the stars" he might say, "And consider the beauty of God which is infinitely greater." Or take Abram when God asks him to number the stars. The beauty and vastness of creation is one God considers worthy to compare to the infinite promise of his provision for Abram's future. Number the stars? Impossible. But when Galileo said, "Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe" he saw what the psalmist, or young Grayson Leedy, could only imagine (McGivern). Galileo saw that amidst the vastness of space, a number of equations existed explaining the depths of the universe. This is where the beauty of mathematics begins: in the backyard of a young man studying God's creation. 

The intensity of mathematics as a practical tool has been the United States' prerogative for the last eighty years. This practicality has become ingrained in the minds of all those who pass through its education system. The alternative is to see mathematics as a key to unlocking the beauty of God's creation. As Christian educators, both teachers and parents alike, we have the responsibility to teach our students to see the world through a good eye and not a bad one (Matt. 6:26). Take the example of the ACA sixth grader. The stars have always been beautiful indeed, but it took a study of their specific habits and nature to create wonder within the student. Abram is a similar example. Abram used the stars to navigate the deserts he crossed. The stars became a practical tool to him. God reoriented his thinking, asking Abram to stop and count the stars, comparing them to God's blessing to Abram. Certainly, Abram discovered a newfound beauty in the stars as they served both as a practical tool and as a gentle reminder of God’s promise. 

So what can we do to inspire and reorient the minds of our students toward seeing beauty in mathematics? One option could be to revisit the past and to show them how math was first discovered. When reading Homer or studying Picasso, we have the opportunity to rediscover the beauty ourselves. We can analyze the words Homer used despite the fact that many critics, philosophers, and historians have already written volumes on the subject. We can study the strokes of paintings and then try our own forms of circles and lines to create a new abstract thought and express it in colors and shapes. But when it comes to math, we show an equation that has been perfected, and we ask the students to memorize it without the joy of discovery, without the pleasure of uncovering the mystery, and without the experience of creating its beauty. The students simply "plug-and-chug" the equation over and over again without ceasing. The equation is lost to us simply because we had no part in discovering it. In math, students need to discover. They need to feel as though they are solving the problem at hand. They need to find the equation, not receive it on a silver platter. We've shifted our focus from exploring mathematical concepts to simply memorizing facts. We don't discover, we uncover. And we certainly don't find 'x' anymore, we calculate it. We've lost the wonder in mathematics, and it's high time we discover that again too. 

Works Cited 

The Space Race. History, A&E Television, 21 February 2020, www.history.com/topics/ cold-war/space-race. Accessed 27 February 2025. 

The Holy Bible. English Standard Version, Crossway, 2016. 

Ostovar, Michele. The Decision to Go to the Moon: President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speech before a Joint Session of Congress. NASA, 22 September 1998, www.nasa.gov/history/the-decision-to-go-to-the-moon/. Accessed 27 February 2025. 

Powell, Alvin. How Sputnik changed U.S. education. The Harvard Gazette, 11 October 2007. news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/10/how-sputnik-changed-u-s- education/. Accessed 27 February 2025. 

McGivern, Andrew. Galileo Galilei. The Great News Podcast, 22 December 2024. greatnewspodcast.com/great-episode/galileo-galilei-mathematics-is-the-language-with-which-god-has-written-the-universe/#:~:text=Math%20is%20the%20solution%20for,all%20night%20with%20a%20telescope. Accessed 27 February 2025.