Good Moods

The making of music involves many different types of math, from

algebra and geometry to group theory and pattern theory and
beyond, and a number of mathematicians (including Pythagoras and
Galileo) and musicians have connected the two disciplines
(Stravinsky claimed that music is "something like mathematical
thinking").

But simply listening to music can make you think mathematically

too. When you recognize a piece of music, you are identifying a
pattern of sound. Patterns are a fundamental part of math; the branch
known as pattern theory is applied to everything from statistics to
machine learning.

Danielson, who teaches kids about patterns in his math classes, says
figuring out the structure of a pattern is vital for understanding math
at higher levels, so music is a great gateway: "If you're thinking
about how two songs have similar beats, or time signatures, or
you're creating harmonies, you're working on the structure of a
pattern and doing some really important mathematical thinking
along the way."

So maybe you weren't doing math on paper if you were debating

with your friends about whether Tom Petty was right to sue Sam
Smith in 2015 over "Stay With Me" sounding a lot like "I Won't
Back Down," but you were still thinking mathematically when you
compared the songs. And that earworm you can't get out of your
head? It follows a pattern: intro, verse, chorus, bridge, end.
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When you recognize these kinds of patterns, you're also recognizing

symmetry (which in a pop song tends to involve the chorus and the
hook, because both repeat). Symmetry [PDF] is the focus of group
theory, but it's also key to geometry, algebra, and many other maths.

3. KNITTING AND CROCHETING // GEOMETRIC THINKING

CHERYL, FLICKR // CC BY-SA 2.0

Droujkova, an avid crocheter, she says she is often intrigued by the

very mathematical discussions fellow crafters have online about the
best patterns for their projects, even if they will often insist they are
awful at math or uninterested in it. And yet, such crafts cannot be
done without geometric thinking: When you knit or crochet a hat,
you're creating a half sphere, which follows a geometric formula.
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Droujkova isn't the only math lover who has made the connection
between geometry and crocheting. Cornell mathematician Daina
Taimina found crocheting to be the perfect way to illustrate the
geometry of a hyperbolic plane, or a surface that has a constant
negative curvature, like a lettuce leaf. Hyperbolic geometry is also
used in navigation apps, and explains why flat maps distort the size
of landforms, making Greenland, for example, look far larger
on most maps than it actually is.

4. PLAYING POOL // TRIGONOMETRY

ISTOCK
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If you play billiards, pool, or snooker, it's very likely that you are
using trigonometric reasoning. Sinking a ball into a pocket by using
another ball involves understanding not just how to measure angles
by sight but triangulation, which is the cornerstone of trigonometry.
(Triangulation is a surprisingly accurate way to measure distance.
Long before powered flight was possible, surveyors used
triangulation to measure the heights of mountains from their bases
and were off by only a matter of feet.)

In a 2010 paper [PDF], Louisiana mathematician Rick Mabry

studied the trigonometry (and basic calculus) of pool, focusing on
the straight-in shot. In a bar in Shreveport, Louisiana, he scribbled equations on napkins for

each shot, and he calculated the most difficult straight-in shot of all. Most
experienced pool players would say it’s one where the target ball is
halfway between the pocket and the cue ball. But that, according to
Mabry’s equations, turned out not to be true. The hardest shot of all
had a surprising feature: The distance from the cue ball to the pocket
was exactly 1.618 times the distance from the target ball to the
pocket. That number is the golden ratio, which is found everywhere
in nature—and, apparently, on pool tables.