Digital Technology

< 27.14 International Paper Sizes | Topic Index | 28.1 Algebraic Thinking >

One of the most dramatic ways in which math has changed our lives in the last five decades is through the invention of digital technology &amp; software programming. These changes are visible even to young children who have not even started attending school.

Let us see some of these new technologies.

Digitization- In the last 5 decades most information has been converted into 0s &amp; 1s. This includes speech, text, music, photographs and paintings. Once a photo is digitized it just becomes another &ldquo;file&rdquo; which can be edited, converted and transmitted around the world. The number system used for this in the binary system which has only two numerals 0 &amp; 1.

Quantifying Information - Digitization has enabled conversion of information from any media (text, picture & music) to bits & bytes and therefore have a means of quantifying it. Today all the data we use through our communication devices is measured and commercially charged where necessary.

Pioneering work in this area was done by Claude Shannon, the inventor of Information Theory.

Computers &amp; Software– are based on a math model. This model has been in use with very few changes in the last seven decades. Most of the progress in computers have been in terms of speed of processing the data and storage capacity of data.

AI, Machine Learning &amp; Robotics –Software has been developed which help machines to learn from the mistakes they commit. This is the basis of artificial intelligence where software can take better and faster decisions (in some areas) than humans. Both these technologies help develop robots which can perform a variety of tasks that normally humans would do.

Internet– The internet has become the nervous system of the entire world. Using the internet information can be transferred around the world instantaneously.

Websites – are locations on the Internet which we can own and fill with information which we want to share with others.

Email– are our addresses on the internet from where we can share information with others through their addresses.

Mobile Phones– have become mini-computers which we can hold in our palms. They are no more just phones for talking to others.

Streamed Movies&dash; the latest trend is to stream movies and and television data digitally direct to homes.

Data Compression&dash; all above devices need enormous amounts of digital data to be transmitted electronically. To reduce the data load compression techniques are used to compress the data before transmission. All compression techniques are mathematical algorithms.

Appliances – Most equipment and appliances are getting fitted with mini-computers which control them electronically. We can say computers from being room sized became desktop, then lap top and are disappearing inside appliances.

Because of the above technological developments our society has changed in fundamental ways. Many of today&rsquo;s teenagers cannot imagine a society where these things did not exist.

Businesses have to use these technologies to become more efficient and save costs. So work in a business demands an understanding of the effective use of these technologies. Due to improvement in communications, managers have to available 24X7X365 anytime and anywhere. This has profound effects on the mental health of the society. The hold of social media over the population is another trend which is worrying.

Entertainment, access to news and shopping can be done without moving from your chair. Education through online resources may become the norm from high school onwards. Many of the health services may be available through the internet.

This is one extreme example of the effect of math on the society!

< 27.14 International Paper Sizes | Topic Index | 28.1 Algebraic Thinking >