"You can think of almost everything as a math problem" -from Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka + Lane Smith.

What is math then?

To take a definition from the internet, it is the abstract science of number, quantity, and space. But math is much broader than this.

It is an abstract way of thinking that allows us to make sense of and to understand various life experiences. Such a definition though, can be applied to other areas. For instance, the same could be said about science, and just as Scieszka's book states: "You can think of almost everything as a science problem" too. Therefore, it is the mind frame with which we apply our thoughts to a problem we are presented with, that determines the 'type' of problem we are focused on solving, and therefore, the outcome or answer that we are striving towards.

So Math, to me, comes down to thinking mathematically.

So, what does it mean to DO mathematics? To me, 'doing' mathematics is typically thought of as being presented with a problem and working our way through it using a set of rules around numbers taught to us from within a book.

Coming back to THINKING mathematically,

Math can be something we think about, without even thinking that we are thinking about it!

If we are to concentrate on thinking about something presented to us, in a mathematical way, then we can take our knowledge of math that we learned in a book, outside of this book, and apply this knowledge, expanding on it, to solve various problems.

Scieszka presents this way of thinking in Math Curse, as the main character finds problems in every aspect of her everyday life. Problems that can be thought of mathematically and can therefore be solved by thinking mathematically.