WEBVTT 00:00:01.800 --> 00:00:04.799 Hi, this week we've explored many of the powers 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.000 mathematics gives us. The power to create, to 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.039 see patterns, to think clearly, to predict uncertainty, 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:16.620 and to build a better future. Today, I want to 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:19.460 consider a different kind of power. One that 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:24.679 spans generations. Now, unlike many fields of 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:28.640 knowledge, mathematics does not become obsolete. 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:34.590 Think about medicine. Treatments improve as researchers 00:00:34.590 --> 00:00:39.429 make new discoveries. Technology changes every 00:00:39.429 --> 00:00:43.810 single year. Scientific theories are refined 00:00:43.810 --> 00:00:47.909 as new evidence becomes available. And that is 00:00:47.909 --> 00:00:50.710 one of the strengths of science. It is constantly 00:00:50.710 --> 00:00:56.030 evolving. But mathematics is different. When 00:00:56.030 --> 00:00:59.570 Euclid wrote The Elements, More than 2 ,000 years 00:00:59.570 --> 00:01:04.030 ago, he established geometric principles that 00:01:04.030 --> 00:01:09.090 we still teach today. We have not replaced the 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:12.670 Pythagorean theorem. The calculus developed by 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:16.709 Newton and Leibniz more than 300 years ago remains 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:20.930 a foundation for great careers such as engineering, 00:01:21.250 --> 00:01:25.769 physics, and actual science. Even the work of 00:01:25.769 --> 00:01:29.829 one of my favorite mathematicians, Srinivas Ramanujan, 00:01:29.930 --> 00:01:34.269 continues to inspire new mathematical discoveries 00:01:34.269 --> 00:01:39.489 more than a century after he died. We still study 00:01:39.489 --> 00:01:43.569 and apply Ramanujan's formulas. And that's one 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:46.890 of the beautiful things about mathematics. New 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:50.049 discoveries do not make the old ones irrelevant. 00:01:50.730 --> 00:01:54.989 They build upon them. So every time you learn 00:01:54.989 --> 00:01:59.370 a new theorem or master a new technique, you 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:03.590 are joining a conversation that has been going 00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:07.569 on for thousands of years. You are benefiting 00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:13.409 from the imagination and perseverance of countless 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:18.009 mathematicians who came before you. Their work 00:02:18.009 --> 00:02:22.110 becomes part of your own mathematical toolbox. 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:27.719 In some ways, mathematical knowledge compounds 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:33.539 like compound interest. Each generation inherits 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:37.379 what the previous generation discovered. It adds 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:41.479 something new and it passes an even richer body 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:45.879 of knowledge to the next. We certainly do not 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:50.340 start from scratch. As they say, we stand on 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:55.060 the shoulders of those who came before us. So 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:58.560 when I reflect on this idea about math, it can 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:03.379 be both humbling and inspiring. The mathematics 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:06.800 that you're learning today is not temporary knowledge 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:12.020 that you will discard next year. It is part of 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:15.819 a timeless language that connects people across 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:23.520 cultures, continents, and centuries. Tomorrow 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.419 we will conclude our week by reminding ourselves 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:30.840 of the popular expression, with all this power 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:35.520 comes responsibilities. We can use mathematics 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:39.060 to improve lives, but like any powerful tool, 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:42.439 we can also use math in ways that cause harm. 00:03:42.979 --> 00:03:47.060 The choice of how we use that power is ultimately 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:48.020 ours.