Imagine a kid reading Shakespeare’s Othello or As You Like it…[or may be some other classic poem…] with great difficulty he somehow manages to read the whole thing… [with all the archaic language etc..] he understands the basic plot and the story and likes it… but will he be able to appreciate the work? Will he be able to see the beauty of it?? Isn’t a good knowledge of Language a bare essential for one to enjoy a Literary work??

Now consider a layman… listening to Classical [say Carnatic] Music… if he’s got no knowledge of the Basic structure and organisation of Music in general or a Raga in particular.. then he may enjoy the musical work… listen to it happily…. but will he get the taste of its nectar from the fine intricacies in it?? Isn’t a basic sense of Music… a knowledge of the language of Music necessary to understand the fine points of a Musical piece??

Isn’t the case similar with Science [Feynman says nature..]?? Without a proper knowledge base in Mathematics.. how would I possibly understand and appreciate Physics/Science (in general..) and Relativity in particular?? [I got this feeling, after class today, for the zillionth time…] How can I possibly enjoy a course in Relativity without a proper Math background???

I need to learn a lot of Mathematics.. its high time I do it… :(

To those who do not know mathematics it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty, of nature … If you want to learn about nature, to appreciate nature, it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in. –Richard P. Feynman