So, What's Math Good For, Anyway?
How People Use Math in Their Work
Illustrated by Ana McKenzie
Rights Sold
Description
Author(s)
Jean Dubinsky Gasca
Related Titles
| Publisher | Author Solutions |
| Publication | Apr 26, 2026 |
| Format | Paperback/Softback |
| ISBN | 979-8765267028 |
| Pages | 366 |
| Dimensions | 6 x 9 |
| Age | 13 - 17 |
| Price | $24.99 |
So, What's Math Good For, Anyway?
How People Use Math in Their Work
What if math stopped feeling like a classroom exercise—and started looking like a passport to the real world?
In So, What’s Math Good For, Anyway?, longtime math and science educator Jean Dubinsky Gasca answers the question generations of students have asked: “How will I ever use this?”
Drawing on conversations with twenty-five professionals, Gasca takes readers behind the scenes of fascinating careers in science, medicine, architecture, engineering, business, photography, visual effects, software development, environmental work, and more. Along the way, readers discover how familiar mathematical ideas—percentages, ratios, graphs, probability, geometry, measurement, formulas, and statistics—help people solve practical problems every day.
Clear explanations, lively examples, and humorous illustrations make even challenging concepts approachable, while real career stories reveal how mathematics can open unexpected doors.
Whether you love math, struggle with it, or simply wonder why it matters, this engaging exploration shows that numbers are not confined to textbooks. They are tools for understanding the world, making decisions, creating things—and building a future.
Author
Jean Dubinsky Gasca
Jean Dubinsky Gasca is a longtime mathematics and science educator with a background spanning biology, engineering, computer programming, and classroom teaching. She studied biology at UCLA, where she worked in the Parasitology Laboratory, and later earned a master’s degree in Engineering Systems, studying probability and statistics. She also taught Patterns of Problem Solving in UCLA’s Engineering School and worked as a systems engineer and computer programmer for an engineering consulting firm. Gasca went on to teach mathematics and science for more than twenty-five years and has continued helping students from kindergarten through college as a tutor. Her experiences with students repeatedly asking how they would ever use mathematics inspired So, What’s Math Good For, Anyway?, an exploration of the many surprising ways math shapes real-world careers.