For example, Maxwell’s equations contain upside down triangles. What exactly do they represent?
How does it apply to the real world?
In: 34
I’m going to try and answer your second question:
People like you and like me, who are not very fluent in advanced mathematics rely on natural language to describe the “real world”. This inherently circumscribes what we can describe because natural language has evolved to allow us to describe what we are capable of perceiving through our senses. On the other hand, mathematics has evolved to describe the “real world” that exists beyond our senses. The most obvious (to most of us anyway) part of the “real world” that natural language is unable to fully describe is related to various forms of energy and mass. We have words to name an electron but words will never full describe what an electron is or does. The same is true of all sub-atomic properties and entities as well as forces such as magnetism and gravity that are macroscopic but invisible. The “real world” as described by mathematics is largely unavailable to us without the use of mathematics.
Latest Answers