Pure mathematics is worthwhile

I strongly believe that, despite its criticism, pure mathematics is worthwhile and should continue to be done and taught.1) It gives people pleasureFirstly, many people get pleasure from the beauty of mathematics, they enjoy studying it, reading it, discovering it and telling people about it. It is widely agreed that human happiness is one of the main (if not the sole) goals for our existence, and therefore if people get pleasure from mathematics it is worthwhile.It may not have direct uses (although it can do as I will come to later) but neither does art, poetry, sport...In the words of C.S Lewis, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”(1)To that list I add mathematics, which I believe comes under the bracket of reasons why we want to live.2) It doesn't require direct applications, but does have themWhen the goal of a subject area is not to solve real world problem that area can expand beyond real world, present limits.Mathematics, especially prime number theory, is a prime example of this. Hundreds of years ago, long before the necessity or capability for computer encryption, mathematicians were discovering things about prime numbers, not for a specific purpose but to expand our knowledge of mathematics.Many years later, in the 1970s, people used this information discovered for its own sake in order to develop encryption methods used all over the world. (2) If mathematicians were only trying to solve problems in the present which required direct applications in the world at the time, this could not have happened. When you do not need applications, more is discovered which can be used in the future.3) Studying pure maths improves your analytical, communication and problem solving skillsThe heart of pure mathematics is logic, and the more you use and apply logic the better you get.While, admittedly, the techniques of mathematics are useful to very few people, the structure behind it is used by everyone everyday.The ability to make rational, logical decisions and solve problems effectively is so important in society today, whether it is deciding on which route to take on the London Underground or countless other everyday situations.Mathematical ability also benefits studying other sciences, and encourages students to think and not just learn information as is common with other subjects.Studying pure mathematics alongside applied maths also shows students that maths can be beautiful in itself, and isn't simply a collection of methods used to find the height of a ball 3 seconds after it is launched.4) Numbers are a part of our universe, to study maths is to study the worldAs Galileo wrote, "Mathematics is the language with which God wrote the Universe". (3)One of humanity's core attributes is the desire to discover more about us and our world.Physics looks out at the universe, biology looks into our body, history looks back at our past, geography looks around at our world, psychology looks at towards our mind, philosophy and maths look at everything.That is why pure mathematics is important, it enables us to learn about some of the fundamental things about our universe and every other conceivable universe. Applied maths can tell you that, on Earth, a ball falls at about 9.8m/s^2. Pure maths can tell you that wherever you are, whoever you are with that the you can't find a fraction which when multiplied by itself gives 2, which I think is more worthwhile.5) It doesn't really cost anythingAnyone can do maths in their spare time on the back of an envelope. It doesn't require expensive machinery, teams of thousands of full time technicians... All it requires is someone to enjoy it, and do it when they can. Some of the greatest works of pure mathematics were done by amateur mathematicians, Fermat being a good example whose career was as a lawyer. (7)____My final point is, would you rather be an Ancient Greek or a Roman?This is, in essence, the discussion. The Romans learnt methods for calculating things in every day life, the are of their field, the height of the coliseum... while the Greeks learnt maths for the beauty of maths, giving them culture, happiness and a desire to discover more about the universe which they lived in. This is what makes pure mathematics worthwhile.(1)http://www.brainyquote.com...(2)https://en.wikipedia.org...(cryptosystem)(3)http://www.quotes.net...(4)https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk...(5)http://mrflip.com...(6)http://mathwithbaddrawings.com... (7)https://en.wikipedia.org...