How is Math Used in Everyday Life?

A blog post about math might not make a lot of sense for a small fidget jewelry business. Our products are all about empowerment and fashion. There's a large focus on creativity and self-expression—not really concepts that you'd connect to math. 

Math is more prevalent in what we do, and in your everyday life, than you might think. There was a lot of math used to prototype our early fidget rings and math uses today to manufacture all-new products. How we set our prices and sell our products to you is all rooted in math. 

It might not be your favorite subject or something you spend any time thinking about, however, it's deeply rooted in your daily life. This post will discuss how math is prevalent in your life and will explain the inspiration behind some of our new products. 

What Are 10 Uses of Math in Everyday Life? 

Math is far more prevalent in your daily life than you might think. You probably make calculations and crunch numbers more than you realize. 

These 10 uses of math in everyday life will open your eyes to how truly important it is: 

1. Baking. Baking uses a lot of measurements to create delicious treats. From knowing how many cups of flour you need to making substitutions when you don't have enough of something, math is vital for the perfect execution of a recipe. 
2. Budgeting. Creating a budget and managing your finances is a more obvious example of how you use math in your daily life. You might use math to determine how much money you can spend in a month depending on how much you make. You use percentages to determine how much of your budget will go to different spending categories. 
3. Decorating your home. Home decor, specifically things you hang on the way, require a lot of measuring. Ensuring that your picture frames are level and that your wall art is spaced evenly requires a lot of math. 
4. Exercising. When you exercise, you probably complete reps on various pieces of equipment. You also determine the correct weights you want to use based on the level of workout you want to do. If you run, you probably decide how many miles you'll run and map out a route before you head out. All of that is determined by math. 
5. Playing music. If you're a musician, there's a lot of math used in composition and execution of a piece. Most pieces of music have time signatures that determine the pace and sound. Time signatures are written as fractions—many musicians will convert a piece into a time signature they're more comfortable with by using an equal fraction (someone might practice a piece in 6/8 time as a piece in 3/4 time.) 
6. Playing and watching sports. Math is all over sports. From the scoring systems to statistics on how well athletes and teams play. Athletes will also use math without even realizing as they play. Anyone who scores goals has to analyze different angles to ensure they make it in the goal. Fans use probabilities and statistics to determine how likely it is that their team is going to win a game. 
7. Shopping. Price setting, making change, and knowing how much money you can spend on something is all based in math. When you go to the grocery store, you probably compare prices to get the best deal. Couponing requires an understanding of percentages to know how much money you'll be saving when you use them. If you go out to eat, you have to use math to know how much to tip your waiter. 
8. Social media. All social media apps use algorithms that show you content they think you'll enjoy. These algorithms take notice of what type of content you usually engage with, what accounts you follow, and what profiles you click on. All of these algorithms use coding that is influenced by math. 
9. Time management. Knowing how to mange your time requires some math. Dividing up the 24-hours you have in a day and allocating specific time slots to the various tasks you have to complete in a day is all rooted in math. 
10. Traveling. Traveling is heavily reliant on math. A GPS will calculate the amount of miles you need to travel and how much time various routes will take you to get to your destination. If you take public transportation, you have to look at how long it will take you to get to your destination and decide the right time to leave. 

Why is Math so Important in Everyday Life? 

As you can see above, there are many different uses of math in your daily life. Math shapes how we make decisions—from organizing schedules to the route you take to work, math can easily sway our choices. 

It acts as the building block for much of our society. The economy, health care, real estate, and more are all based in math. Without it, we wouldn't be able to determine when we're being overcharged, we wouldn't have any source of income, and we would lose the structure of our society. 

Math also helps us build strong problem making skills. Various disciplines require critical thinking, logical reasoning, and analytical skills. All of these attributes can help you make better choices and work through complex problems quickly. 

What is the Fibonacci Sequence and Why is it Significant? 

The inspiration behind this post are the new math-inspired products we just launched. One of the products is a representation of the Fibonacci Sequence. You may have heard the term before but aren't entirely sure what it is or why it matters. 

The Fibonacci Sequence is a series of steadily increasing numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers. While it does have a lot of math-specific uses, the reason it might sound familiar and why people are so fascinated by it are its prevalence in nature. 

This article from How Stuff Works gives a detailed explanation of what it is and how it works in nature. Essentially, the way things grow and form in nature seems to follow the Fibonacci Sequence. If you look at seed patterns in various plants, they form spirals. When you count the spirals, they add up to a number in the Fibonacci Sequence. Flower petals and storm systems are two other examples of how the sequence shows up in nature. 

There are also some uses of the Fibonacci Sequence in art and architecture. Our new Fibonacci element shows the spiral created from a series of numbers. 

What Does Pi Day Celebrate? 

The launch of our math-inspired products is timed to Pi Day, which is probably the most famous math-inspired holiday. Pi Day is a fun celebration of word play and teachable moments. Many people run with the pi/pie concept and will eat pie or get pie-inspired merchandise. In fact, our new slice of pie element is a play on the pi/pie concept. 

Math teachers and professionals also use Pi Day as an opportunity to teach people about the concept of pi and to show that math can be pretty cool. In the classroom, many math teachers will throw fun celebrations while also educating students about the importance of math. 

What Does Pi Actually Stand For? 

Pi is such a well-known concept that you're likely familiar with what it means and how it's used. In case you aren't, pi (π) is a sequence of numbers that represents the relationship between a circle's circumference and diameter. Regardless of the size of a circle, the circumference divided by the diameter will always equal pi (π). 

The sequence starts with 3.14 which is why we celebrate Pi Day on March 14th. The next two numbers in the sequence are 15 which is why March 14, 2015 was considered "the ultimate Pi Day." 

Pi (π) is a constant number that never changes. It will always be the same sequence of numbers which means Pi Day will always be March 14th. 

Fidget Jewelry Inspired by Math

As someone who works in a creative, arts-focused field, I can still appreciate what math has done for me and how important it is in my daily life. Hopefully now, you can start to see how math presents itself in your daily life. 

If you're a big math fan, or want to start appreciating how it manifests in your daily life more, check out these additional math-inspired products: 

Luxe Tile	Oculus	ParaBox	Radiant Eye	Delta Ray