Use of mathematics in thought process and decision making.

 What if I tell you that you can improve your decision-making process easier using mathematics? Not only that, you can radically improve your thought process and articulate complex dichotomous notions with the help of numbers.

You may have heard the use of mathematics in daily life. You may have used numbers to count, measure, label, order, or even code. Without even consciously realizing it, many people apply mathematical concepts in their daily life. The use of arithmetic in monetary transactions is probably the most popular use of mathematics for most people. Besides that, people use mathematics in cooking, shopping, games, designing, and even dieting.

While most of you might have known these uses, what you might not know is that mathematics can be used to fundamentally organize our thoughts. Whenever I think about complex topics I think in terms of numbers. Take an example of the most controversial and hyped discipline of our society—Politics. Personally, I have fluctuated from left to right numerously in the political spectrum. Currently, though, my stance on this political spectrum is 60% left.

But what does it (60% left stance) mean?

In simple words, it means that in the spectrum of politics if I imagine that left is 100% and the right is 0%, I am currently in the upper part of the median. Therefore, I’m slightly more left-leaning in my political stance. Here, it is important to note that I will have comparatively more similar beliefs with a right-leaning person at about 40% than a radically left-leaning person at 90% although the latter is in the same half as I am. Visualizing this in terms of numbers (in this case spectrum) is very helpful in this case.

Didn’t like that example? Many people might not be familiar with or interested in politics. Let’s take a simpler example—ice cream.

Most people I know love ice cream. But how much do they exactly like ice cream? If I ask them this question, they will most likely answer in the form of “I just love ice cream. It is one of my favorite foods.” While this response is helpful qualitatively, it doesn’t quantify the likeness. I believe that when we quantify our stances, thoughts, beliefs, and preferences, it is more specific, concrete, and intelligible to others.

Personally, I am not fond of ice cream. I put it at about 40%. This means that if I imagine 100% to be the most delicious food for me and 0% to be the most unpalatable and nastiest food, my likeness for ice cream stands around 40%. The mid-value of 50% is neutral i.e. neither delicious nor unpleasant. Another example that will illustrate my preference is that I prefer apples (80%) to bananas (65%).

From these illustrations, I think it is pretty obvious where I am going with this. Using numbers in our thought process is fun and helpful. I have illustrated the use of percentages and proportions. Now, I want to emphasize the application of probability and statistics.

In layman’s terms, “probability” is simply a numerical value [between 0—1] that describes the likelihood of an event to occur, and “statistics” is the discipline concerned with analyzing and interpreting numeric data. In mathematics and sciences, these two fields (often integrated into one field) are used extensively for a broad range of purposes. They are used in weather forecasting, finances, analyzing experimental data, medical studies, gaming strategies, and quantum mechanics, among others.

I propose that they can also be used in our thought process and decision-making process. Usually, it is more likely that we do use them in our lives. For instance, even though we don’t consciously use rigorous probability theory but we do make subjective predictions in our lives. This is called subjective probability. If we could expand their application to a level where the use of probability and statistics is a basic tool for everyone in every circumstance, our tasks will be way easier.

You may have realized that you have used these tools several times even if you aren’t from a mathematical background. The real question is: To what extent can these mathematical tools be used? I believe they can be applied widely from choosing our minor preferences to describing our emotions to making complex decisions.

I will demonstrate the use of statistics and probability in making a complex decision from the personal example of my college application process. While preparing for US colleges, I’ve been researching tens of colleges and recording their data in a spreadsheet. Using statistical tools like average, median, range, and variability, I not only analyze and interpret quantifiable data but also try to quantify the qualitative data in terms of my subjective preferences. Then, I will apply probability to predict my chances of getting accepted into these colleges.

Though they do drastically improve these fields, these numeric or quantified values are already implicitly present in our minds. Real progress or improvement occurs when we try to articulate these thoughts and preferences in terms of numbers using mathematical specificity.  

As our languages are not fully capable of communicating our thoughts, the more specific and numerically quantified we are, the more we can express ourselves clearly. I have experienced several instances in my life where a conflict arises just because people were not explicit enough or specific enough. If you look closely, you are more likely than not to find these kinds of experiences. They occur in our daily conversations with our friends, families, and relationships even more so than in academic and political debates.

Therefore, I urge people to apply these mathematical tools and try to assign specific numerical values to their desires, preferences, and statements. I’m not saying to radicalize our emotions and think them just in terms of numbers. I’m simply suggesting that we should try to assign a numerical value when describing things (even to ourselves), especially when there is a comparison between things or the topic is dichotomously complex. This is not something that will dehumanize us. On the contrary, making ill-informed decisions, thinking abstractly without specification, and engaging in conflicts without properly understanding each other’s stances are the things that truly limit our unique human potentials. Only when we clearly understand each other’s viewpoints and the extent of support or preference for complex and controversial topics can we form better thoughts, make better decisions, and have better conversations and debates in our society. 

 - Amrit Shakya