Have Pen & Paper…Will Model!!!
Geometrical Conceptualization
Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, University Teknologi Malaysia
2 April 2008
Lecture Theatre 1
Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studie
University Teknologi Malaysia
Abstract
Mathematics is a dynamic endeavor, which seeks to understand patterns that permeate both the world around us as well as the mind within us. Much of the usefulness and importance of mathematics lies in its ability to treat a variety of situations and problems. The mathematical problems which evolve from real world have been commonly referred to as ‘story problem’, ‘word problems’ and ‘application problems’. Our goal is to give real-life problem a mathematical description; i.e. modeling. Mathematical modeling is the process of creating a mathematical representation of some phenomenon in order to gain a better insight of that phenomenon. These models are powerful engineering tools and it has helped in many areas of the system including design, management, research, prediction and education. It is a process that attempts to match the observation with symbolic statements (equations and algorithms) or graphical representation. During the process of building a mathematical model, decisions have to be made on what factors are relevant to the problem and what factors can be de-emphasized. Once a model has been developed and used to answer questions, it should be critically examined and often modified to obtain a more accurate reflection of the observed reality of that phenomenon. In this way, a mathematical modeling is an evolving process, as a new insight is gained, the process begins again as additional factors are considered We will discussed and revealed two of on-going research works of Fuzzy Research Group involving modeling real-world phenomena; determination of the epileptic foci in those suffering from epilepsy disorder and modeling the incineration process. We will reaffirmed Prof. Gunter Wagner’s (Alison Richard Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale) statement that “The future of biology lies in algebra and graph theory!!”