Hey, What Are the Odds? It’s Now Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month!

Yes, the big event is here. Expanding from a single week of celebration authorized by presidential proclamation in 1986, the full month of national focus on all things math only began in 1999 – making this year the event’s 23rd anniversary. The expansion resulted from belated recognition of just how important the field is to the nation’s economy. Even schools in the United Kingdom coordinate with those in the US to encourage interest in mathematical instruction during this special month.

Since math and statistics form the basis of all technology, and every course of study here at Capitol depends on both, we have plenty of reasons to do our own celebrating. Check out the official hashtag, #MathStatMonth, on social media for resources and links developed by the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM). This organization works all year to share the beauty and utility of math and statistics with the public. Members are drawn from the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the American Statistical Association.

To encourage participation, many awareness month activities are organized at the state or regional level. However, there are also many online opportunities to enjoy the extra focus directed on math and statistics at this time of year.

Take a few moments to ...

• download this year’s free MSAM poster. Posters developed during previous years are available here.
• read Living Proof, a publication of the American Mathematical Society, which details the struggles real people— some of them professional mathematicians—have experienced in learning mathematics. As the foreword encouragingly instructs, “People who succeed in mathematics ... spend a lot of time not understanding and feeling frustration.”
• catch up on learning about well-known mathematicians identified during Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month.
• try your hand at math poetry. Yes, it’s a thing! Read some past competition winners here.
• watch a Youtube video in which a combo mathematician/concert pianist describes how Johann Sebastian Bach’s musical accomplishments were aided by a mathematical breakthrough.
• discover if you have any mathematically-inclined ancestors in the Mathematics Genealogy Project database.
• play Congressperson for a day, and enjoy some recent briefings on math topics presented on Capitol Hill. How about Mitigating Climate Change: Science and Policy, or  Threats and Vulnerabilities of Interconnected Systems?

As a Capitol student, you’re already in a prime position for employment after graduation, but during Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, why not take advantage of the focus on careers in the world of numbers? Explore the full range of occupations and opportunities in the field and spend the rest of the day glowing after you learn just how bright your financial future can be. Capitol offers many fields of study centered around mathematics and statistics, such as engineering, computer & data science, and aviation. You can browse our full list of degree offerings on our website.

Don’t let this month’s observance of the year’s biggest math- and statistics-focused academic event pass by without getting involved. And be sure to share your favorite discoveries at #MathStatMonth along with other Capitol students. Interested in applying your math skills to your future with a degree? Contact admissions@captechu.edu for more information about our programs.