Professor Johann Engelbrecht
Councillor Jackie Mathebula
Your Worship the Mayor of Durban, Obed Mlaba
South African Mathematics Foundation Board Members
SAMO committee members
Representatives of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education
Finalists and winners
Parents, teachers and coaches
Ladies and gentlemen
How important is mathematics?
The famous Cambridge mathematician GH Hardy enjoyed insisting on the glorious uselessness of number theory, his chosen field. He preferred his work to be thought of as pure mathematics, and completely without application.
At the other end of the scale, there are mathematicians working in areas like theoretical computer science, financial mathematics and statistics, all areas of immense practical importance. Mathematicians in these disciplines can point out ideas that have had enormous impact, like the black-schools equation for derivative pricing, which transformed the operations of financial markets and the public-key cryptosystem, which is now the basis for security on the internet.
As the British mathematician Timothy Gowers has pointed out, the public-key system is actually an application of number theory, an outcome that Hardy might have found surprising.
This is an illustration to explain why we at the Department of Science and Technology (DST) believe that mathematics is very important, even if it is not always of immediately obvious use. As the pioneering astronomer Galileo said, "The great book of nature can be read only by those who know the language in which it was written. And that language is mathematics."
That is why I am so pleased to be here tonight, in the midst of young people who are gifted and interested in maths. I am also pleased that their gifts are being recognised and encouraged by the South African Mathematics Olympiad, with sponsorship from Harmony Gold Mining, to which I would like to express my appreciation.
The DST has given quite a lot of support to Mathematics Olympiads over the past few years, including funding the coaching of identified learners from disadvantaged groups at camps during school holidays.
We also supported South Africa's preparation for and participation in the annual Pan African Mathematics Olympiad earlier this year, in which a record number of countries participated, and we were delighted when South Africa came second. Now we want to extend our support to benefit more of the talented young people we know are out there.
The DST, working with the Department of Basic Education, is doing as much as it can to increase the capacity of our young people. As part of this process, we are re-examining our interventions targeting the youth and their teachers. In the past three years, more than 450 teachers from selected schools have been trained to offer better support for participants in Science and Mathematics Olympiads.
We are monitoring this process as we are anxious to learn whether our initiatives are proving worthwhile. We already know that the mathematicians who trained the teachers were extremely helpful, and I would like to take this occasion to thank them all most sincerely.
Our aim is to achieve broader participation in Olympiads, which we believe is important. So does the Department of Basic Education, which provides support for the participation of Dinaledi Schools. We also hope to achieve focused support and coaching for selected young people, and we have therefore, with the agreement of the Department of Basic Education, adopted 18 Dinaledi Schools. These schools are positioned relatively close to science centres with which we have close cooperation.
We are now also exploring the possibility of establishing science academies. These schools will provide an environment that will nurture and stimulate youngsters with talent and interest in science, engineering, mathematics and technology, offering extra motivation and opportunities for such learners.
As with any team, coaching plays a very important role. The question is, do we have enough skilled coaches? Do our coaches have the necessary skills and enthusiasm? They don't have to be young, but are they youth-friendly, dynamic and energetic? Can they help the South African team reach the finals, and win?
It is important for those in charge of our mathematical future to set ambitious development goals. The base from which you select the learners chosen for your coaching programme must be expanded, increased, enriched.
At the very least, I ask you to trawl the talent pools of the top 200 schools in our country, select a few hundred of those showing the most aptitude and promise, and provide them with the coaching needed to join the team benefiting from the Maths Olympiads coaching schools. Unless we do this we will never achieve the depth in every position that our team needs to tackle the teams of other nations.
Our department supports Olympiads because it believes they are effective tools for the identification of talent. And talent, once identified, must be nurtured.
Without nurturing, the stem withers, the tendrils dry out. Stimulation and inspiration are water and sunlight for the cultivation of talent. Exposure to role-models, job-shadowing, camps, visits to industries and mentoring are all important fertilizers, and it is important to recognise that the provincial maths competitions are only the start of a development process that leads to a much greater objective.
For these reasons I urge the South African Mathematics Foundation and its affiliates to give serious consideration to mobilising their professional members to offer themselves as mentors to young school-going mathematicians. Furthermore, I am requesting the decision-makers of the maths foundation to consider an expanded plan to provide support and mentoring to a larger group of learners those in the upper middle group and not only to those who are currently the best of the best.
In fact, as I have explained, the basic factor is that the numbers of eligible players on our team are simply not sufficient to make us competitive on the international stage or to meet our country's future skills needs. I respectfully request our mathematicians and the South African Mathematics Foundation to adopt a more inclusive approach, an approach which will broaden the base from which we find the top performers and from which our country will glean the knowledge workers it requires.
The team responsible for the implementation of the youth into science strategy is busy with the restructuring of programmes and projects, refining the interventions that have been used in the past few years and, we hope, dramatically improving the effectiveness of our interventions. Consequently, I have a further appeal to those involved in organising Mathematics Olympiads. Please liaise and consult with our DST colleagues so that your good work can be harmonised with the department’s plans and projects for the next few years, for the benefit of our country.
To get back to what has brought us here, the mathematical excellence of the top young maths brains in the country. I believe that even you are often confused as to the function and purpose of mathematics. So in closing I'd like to tell you a rather interesting story.
The America's Cup is the world's premier yacht race. Over the years it has been won mostly by the United States, but it has been hotly contested by Britain, France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and other seafaring nations. At the start of the new millennium Switzerland decided to enter the contest. Now, if your geography is half as good as your maths, you'll know that Switzerland is a land-locked country, without one metre of coast. But it does have a strong tradition in mathematics.
The Swiss enlisted a group of mathematicians specialising in mathematical modelling and numerical computation. These mathematicians used partial differential equations to model the flow of the sea around the hull, the dynamics of the air and the sails, and the turbulent interaction of the ocean, wind and boat.
They then applied advanced numerical algorithms to solve these equations on high performance computers. This allowed them to optimise such things as hull and keel design, sail geometry and placement. Using these principles they designed the Swiss yacht Alinghi, which went on to win the America’s Cup in 2003. The Swiss did the maths and they won.
We want you to carry on doing your maths so that you and all of us can win. Your gift for mathematics is a precious resource, and one that must be used. You must have the dedication to convert your talent into real ability. You can then move on to help the next wave of young people who are determined to excel in mathematics, representing your country in the vitally important race to create a better life for all.
There are many problems to be solved, and you have demonstrated your ability to solve problems. Show us what you can do!
Good luck and thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
17 October 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)
