I keep hearing people say “I’m never going to use this in real life.” I hear it in all of my classes. I heard it today in Calculus. I heard it the other day in Philosophy, and I often hear it in Chemistry (and mildly agree with them if they aren’t planning on going to med school like I am). 

Here’s the thing. You actually are going to use it, and I’m going to break it down for you.

At the beginning of this semester, I had no clue that Calculus and Philosophy could have anything to do with each other or have anything in common, but they do.

In order to persuade others to see your point of view in philosophy, you need to have a logical, clear explanation of why you see things the way you do. For example, if you believe the death penalty is wrong, you need to be able to explain why. If you think the death penalty is right, you need to explain why. How do you improve your ability to logic and reason? One word: MATH. The higher your ability to think in a mathematically advanced way, the better you’re brain will be able to logic. You don’t have to believe me on this, I know it to be true (unless you have some sort of social phobias or severe social handicaps). I know it to be true because in 1 semester of calculus, I have improved my ability to express my ideas in philosophy despite the fact that I struggle with most of the reading and find the teacher to be less than fantastic at teaching us debate skills (that’s not her job, her job is to teach us ethics). I have shut down more people in my class arguing against my own personal beliefs to know that it’s no coincidence. I wasn’t this good before. I even find myself winning arguments with my husband, the most logical man I have ever met. 

Back to the topic at hand. You will use philosophy in life. I promise you. When you see a $20 bill drop out of a stranger’s pocket, you’ll either choose to ignore what you learned in your ethics class, or you’ll choose to use it and decide what your next move will be. Will you pocket the money, or give it back to it’s rightful owner. Even bigger, you need a job. You want to work at this really great place, but don’t have much in the way of experience. Do you lie on your resume, or do you tell the truth and hope you’re charisma will get you in the door? Philosophy helps us determine what our morals are, it helps us figure out what kind of people we want to be. If you don’t think you use ethics, look back on all the decisions you have to make. I guarantee you will use it your entire life.

Calculus is a bit different. It is possible you will never need to find the derivative of a function ever again once you leave this class. It is possible you won’t need to know what the greatest rate of change of something is if you become an English teacher. However, you might use the math knowledge elsewhere. It’s possible that learning calculus, and becoming better and better with numbers will help me as a doctor. Simple mathematical mistakes can turn a lifesaving drug into a death certificate. Knowing how to use a derivative to quickly find the greatest profit margin for a company, or the quickest way to a destination can be useful in life. Learning math will only improve your mental prowess and aid you in other aspects of your life. I would rather know how to use calculus than end up helpless, feeling like an idiot. There’s nothing wrong with exercising your brain, trust me, I spent too many years letting mine sit dusty on the shelf.