Ian Stewart Letters To A Young Mathematician Analysis

Role of Situatedness in Comprehending the World

People say, and mostly believe, that it's the brain which thinks, analyses and understands the concepts and patterns around us. For the brain to do its duty, few basic information has to be provided to it, which is usually done by the eyes and the place they are located. Eyes see, observe and pass the information to the brain, which processes it for further knowledge. So to understand the world around us, it is necessary to see or feel it. What is seen depends on where the eyes and the subjects of interests are located. Ian Stewart in the chapter, "Is God a Mathematician?" from the book "Letters to a Young Mathematician" discusses the beauty mathematicians can find in the natural world, demonstrating

Stewart says," Because we cannot experience the universe objectively, we sometimes see patterns that do not exist."(198) In the process of seeing the world as it is, that is it's reality, people see or believe to see something different. They interpret everything around them in context to what they already are aware of or in relation to themselves. Berger points out to this and says," We never look at one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves."(9) Humans always are in the constant battle of finding new things or figuring how the older things evolved. In doing so, they tend to relate everything and anything to themselves and the knowledge they already possess. Having said that, it is rather important to point out to the fact that one never looks at one thing alone at an instant of

In the process of doing so, they tend to forget few things. They forget the fact that they are a part of the world and not separate, because they separate themselves from the world whenever they have something to analyse and observe. What affects the ways of seeing and writing, or in short the understanding of the world is the situatedness. The time and place where people are located or situated drives the way they see and perceive it. And the ways in which the information is perceived also depends upon the prior knowledge one has. This knowledge is something which flows from brain to brain either due to the laws created with the help of tools like mathematics or due to intellectual constructs. Not necessary that the knowledge stays the same all throughout as it is prone to a lot of changes during its journey. For all this to happen, the basic fundamental aspect of situatedness is very trivial. Humans either analyse the place they are situated in, or situate themselves into a place to analyse it. In either way situatedness plays a crucial role in understanding of the