Adjustment of rent, debts, income tax. Our life is permeated by mathematical questions that we often don't even dare to try to understand. Which is better, paying in installments or accepting the cash discount? Should I fill my car with alcohol or gasoline? How much exactly am I paying in interest on my financing? Simple questions like these can be resolved by ordinary citizens as long as they are offered the necessary tools.
This is what Laércio Luis Vendite, professor at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Scientific Computing (Imecc) at Unicamp, believes. With the aim of making such tools available to the general public, he wrote the book Financial mathematics and the use of electronic spreadsheets (Modern Science, 301 pages), which will be launched on Friday (21), at 19 pm, at Livraria Cultura at Shopping Iguatemi, in Campinas.
“Actually, what I teach is how to think about these problems and put them into spreadsheets. The mathematics involved in them is very simple. Once the data is correctly entered into the software, it does the math for you in 10 seconds”, explained Vendite. According to him, many of the problems created for the Unicamp entrance exam involve the issues he addresses in the book.
According to the professor, with this book he intends to demystify mathematics and show that it is accessible and necessary for citizens. “The individual has to have a minimum basis of understanding about these things to not be deceived. It’s a way to have more control over your own life, to have power over your choices and decisions,” he said.
Issues such as zero interest for financing and the portion to be deducted from Income Tax are explained in the book in a simple and didactic way. “We seek to address issues in a natural way, with a language that everyone can understand,” said Vendite. The book is the result of 30 years of experience in the classroom with students and teachers, from higher and secondary education, who often arrived without understanding basic points of day-to-day mathematics.
In addition to the paper edition, the book can be read in digital format and can be found in the country's main bookstores.
