Speeches
Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Education, at the Singapore Mathematical Society Annual Prize Presentation Ceremony on Saturday, 30th August 2008, at 10.00am at the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Auditorium
Professor Ling San, Vice-President, Singapore Mathematical Society,
Distinguished guests,
Prize Winners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning.
I am glad to be here with you this morning for the Singapore Mathematical Society Annual Prize Presentation Ceremony. We are here to honour the winners of several mathematical competition - the 2008 Singapore Mathematical Olympiads, the Singapore Mathematics Project Festival, the Singapore Mathematical Society Essay Competition, and the 49th International Mathematical Olympiad. More than 9,000 students participated in the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad this year reflecting the growing interest in mathematics among students in Singapore. This augurs well for the future development of scientific and technological knowledge in Singapore because Mathematics is one of the fundamental pillars of Science and Technology.
Role of Mathematics in promoting scientific developments
It is well known that mathematical knowledge figures extensively in the development of many disciplines such as Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Social Sciences such as Economics. Even in areas where rapid development is taking place, such as in Medical and Biological Sciences and Nanotechnology, Mathematics plays an important role.
Indeed, we owe much of our advances in scientific discoveries and technological to basic Sciences, notably Mathematics. For example, many Internet technologies are based on mathematical theories such as Linear Algebra, Graph Theory and Optimization. Modern Biological Sciences depend on Differential Equations, , Statistics, and Geometry, just to name a few, to deal with problems of extremely high complexity such as understanding how the human brain works. Demands from the financial markets have led to the birth of the field of Financial Mathematics. The airplanes that we fly in, the mobile phones, as well as the IPod, that many of us can’t live without, would not have been possible without Mathematics.
Mathematics is no longer just counting, calculation, measurement and the study of the shapes and motions of physical objects. It now involves the study of quantity, structure, space and change. This has come about through the use of abstraction and deductive reasoning. Whenever there are difficult problems that require careful study and analysis, experimentation in the form of mathematical investigations arises. Mathematical investigations play a large role in the formulation of reasonable conjectures. They then generate new knowledge in Mathematics and its applied disciplines.
Applications to real life
You might ask if these conjectures have any application in real life. Well mathematicians are highly sought-after in the world of banking and insurance. The reason is because the learning of Mathematics will imbue you with problem-solving skills such as the ability to understand a problem, identify the relevant information, look for relationships and patterns, make your own conjectures and apply mathematical knowledge and tools to solve or prove them. Mathematics, thus, provides good opportunities for the training of the mind to think critically and adapt to new situations, something that will be valuable to your future careers.
The annual competitions organized by the Singapore Mathematical Society aim to develop mathematical talents holistically. Through these competitions, I hope that you will discover your inclinations and special talents in Mathematics. Hopefully some of you will be sufficiently inspired to go on to further pursue your interest in the subject. Some of you may move on to other disciplines, but your Mathematics knowledge and training will help you to excel in whatever fields you may choose. Some of you may one day be responsible for breakthroughs that will place Singapore on the world map.
Conclusion
To all the prize winners here this morning, congratulations for coming up tops among the 9000 students who participated in the competitions. Winning a prize is an encouragement and affirmation of your effort. It should not be the only reason for being here. I hope that you are inspired by the wonder of mathematics and that you will develop a passion for the subject that will motivate you for a lifetime. May you scale greater heights in the learning of mathematics and please don’t forget to thank your teachers and parents for supporting and guiding you through your learning journey.
Thank you.