Relationship between Culture and Mathematics

Understanding Culture
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Understanding Culture
Culture refers to the knowledge and characteristics of a specific group of people, such as art, language, cuisine, music, religion, and social habits. In other words, it can be defined as patterns of human activities and symbolic structures that are unique for a particular community. The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition states that culture entails shared patterns of behaviors and human interaction, cognitive constructs, and understanding that individuals learn via socializing (Module 1, 2022). Mathematical information provides what people need to know about culture.
Ethnomathematics entails the relationship between culture and mathematics. In particular, mathematical information can help individuals understand more about a specific culture. Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, a Brazilian mathematician, affirms that ethnomathematics refers to the intersection of mathematics, culture, sociocultural roots, and historical traditions (Module 1, 2022). It significantly contributes to comprehending the connection between culture and mathematics. For the past 500 decades, humans have used mathematics to measure and communicate. Individuals from distinct cultures gain more information about each other or interact using mathematics, particularly in measuring quantity, distance, and time. For instance, people can learn about the Ishango, a small community that existed about 25,000 years ago in Central Equatorial Africa Mountains near Lake Edward (Module 1, 2022). Although the community no longer exists, more information can be obtained by studying the Ishango mathematical model. For example, these people used the Ishango bone, which is known as the oldest prime numbers’ table, to calculate, calendar, and as a barcode. As a result, numerous cultural aspects of the Ishango community can be understood through mathematics.
Mathematics is a powerful tool that helps humans understand various patterns, quantify relationships, predict the future, and communicate. Although it can be referred to as a universal language, every culture uses it uniquely to communicate. For examp...