Mathematics is one of the most original products of the human mind. It has many important applications in science, engineering, and statistics, but mathematics is also an important field of study for its own sake. Throughout history each culture has developed its own mathematics to solve its problems. Today there is an internationally accepted mathematics that is studied and used across the world. With our increasing need for information and technology, mathematics will play an even more important role in most occupations and fields of study. It will also continue to be a critical topic in the history of ideas, documenting fundamental modes of human thought.