Math is important to every human that has ever walked the face of the planet (and to every human that ever will). It's all around us. It's everywhere. Watch these TED Talks to learn how math is not only magical, but incredibly necessary: Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities -- that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city's population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations. Scott Rickard set out to engineer the ugliest possible piece of music, devoid of repetition, using a mathematical concept known as the Golomb ruler. In this talk, he shares the math behind musical beauty (and its opposite). Robert Lang is a pioneer of the newest kind of origami -- using math and engineering principles to fold mind-blowingly intricate designs that are beautiful and, sometimes, very useful. Owen Daniel is a performer, entertainer and mathematician. At a young age he developed a passion for magic, leading him to be a finalist in the Magic Circle's Junior Close Up Competition at the age of 13. At 17 he set up Magico Theatre Company and directed two plays which went on to have sell out runs at the Edinburgh Festival in 2007 and 2008. For the last 4 years he has been studying mathematics at the University of Warwick during which his theatre career has been on hold, however he has been known to come out of hiding to do occasional shows and talks. He was most recently seen talking for Warwick's IATL group, on the subject of teaching mathematics in a creative environment. Someone always asks the math teacher, "Am I going to use calculus in real life?" And for most of us, says Arthur Benjamin, the answer is no. He offers a bold proposal on how to make math education relevant in the digital age. Here's a fun math trick to try at home. Vi Hart is a self-described "Recreational Mathemusician" who is most known for her mathematical videos on YouTube. See all the TED-Ed Lessons about math: http://ted.cotfw.tk/series/math-in-real-life

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