Mathematics: essential for decisions

From the everyday to government policies

Abstract

Life is dotted with small decisions with which we build day by day in the face of reality; either to confront it or to evade it, we justify our actions explicitly or implicitly, sometimes using rational arguments with some mathematical content, representing spaces, quantities, statistics or through logic. Devising arguments that explain a decision is easy because we are natural rationalizers. At the moment that people have an idea of what is the right decision, they already have conscious reasons that support that decision, even if they arrived at it in an unconscious way. Day to day decisions can be converted into good or bad habits or transcendent decisions; something as simple as being active, eating properly, not using the cell phone when driving, etc., actions that can make a great difference.

In addition to the decisions with which citizens are building their daily lives, it is necessary that the population also take part in the decision-making and in the implementation of political issues (transit, city planning, environmental, health, etc.). From access to statistics to participation in the debate on the feasibility of government policies.

Some questions from which we started in the article are: What use is given to mathematics in everyday life? Can mathematical arguments, statistics, influence our daily life? What strategy do government policies have for policy making and the education of society? Do mathematics remain in the rational justification of our decisions?