The phrase "id est quod est" - it is what it is - has always fascinated me. Not just for its simple elegance in Latin, but for the profound resignation it carries. It's a statement of acceptance, of surrender to reality, but also paradoxically, of understanding. When we say "it is what it is," we're not just giving up; we're acknowledging a fundamental truth about reality.
But what exactly is it that we're accepting? What is this "it" that simply is? The more I've thought about this, the more I've come to see that everything - every single thing we encounter, every situation we face, every decision we make - can be reduced to mathematics. Not just in the abstract sense that philosophers like Pythagoras proposed, but in a very real, practical sense.
Consider any situation you're in. Break it down to its components. What you'll find is a series of variables, constants, and functions. Your choices are variables. Your circumstances are constants. The way these interact - that's your function. The outcome? That's your solution. Life, in its most fundamental form, is just an elaborate series of equations we're constantly solving.
This isn't just philosophical musing. It's practical. When we say "it is what it is," we're really saying "these are the variables, these are the constants, and this is how they interact." We're acknowledging that while we might not like the solution, we understand that it follows inevitably from the equation we're working with.
Take relationships, for instance. They're not just emotional connections - they're complex equations balancing variables like time, effort, understanding, and compromise against constants like personality, values, and circumstances. The success or failure of a relationship isn't random - it's mathematical. It's the solution to an equation we're often not even aware we're solving.
Or consider career decisions. They're not just choices - they're optimization problems. We're trying to maximize satisfaction while minimizing stress, maximize income while minimizing time investment, maximize growth while minimizing risk. These aren't just metaphors - they're actual mathematical relationships that govern our lives.
Even our emotions, which seem so far removed from the cold logic of mathematics, follow mathematical patterns. Joy, sadness, anger - they're all responses to changes in our life's equations. When something doesn't add up, we feel it. When the numbers align perfectly, we call it happiness.
So when we say "it is what it is," we're really saying "the math checks out." We're acknowledging that the solution, whether we like it or not, is mathematically sound. And there's something profoundly comforting in that. It means that life, for all its apparent chaos, follows rules. It means that while we might not always like the answers we get, we can understand how we got them.
From "id est quod est" to "life is maths" - it's more than just a clever rephrasing. It's a shift from passive acceptance to active understanding. It's recognizing that while we can't always change the constants in our life's equations, we can work with the variables we control to optimize our solutions.
After all, that's what mathematics is all about - finding the best possible solutions given the constraints we're working with. And isn't that what life is about too?