Mathematics, not surprisingly, means different things to different people. To employers, mathematics is just part of the teamwork required for employees to do their jobs well. In today's workplace, communicating ideas is far more important than applying technical skills. Fear of mathematics is widespread, especially among politicians and managers whose backgrounds are not in science or engineering. They turn pale when I come with my graphs and charts.
Quantitative arguments strike terror in their hearts.
Their cognitive processes just shut off. This widespread fear poses significant challenges for the mathematical community. Mathematics educators need to help students learn to communicate about mathematical ideas with those for whom quantitative thinking is not a welcome mode of discourse. Students' future jobs will likely depend on their skill in this endeavor. At the same time, mathematicians and mathematics educators themselves need to communicate to the public that mathematics is not really as they imagine it in their terror-filled dreams.