I can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that math is invented? Maybe he came up with the symbols of integration and derivation, but these are phenomena, no? We’re just representing it in a “language” that makes sense. I’ve also heard people say that we may need “new math” to discover/explain new phenomena. What does that mean?
Edit: Thank you for all the responses. Making so much more sense now!
In: Mathematics
Math is entirely a language, of sorts. Like other languages, it is completely a human invention. Unlike spoken languages, it only concerns numbers and their interactions. It is a very useful tool for modeling real world phenomena, but that doesn’t mean math itself is somehow “natural.” It doesn’t exit independent of human society.
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