Invented or Discovered?

Question

I recently asked a question asking "how old was Isaac Newton when he discovered calculus" and people tried to correct me and said that he invented it.

I believe that math is discovered, not invented. Pythagorean Theorm was not some idea invented to say that a^2 + b^2 = c^2, but was a recognition that, if given a right-triangle, this is how all sides behave.
All mathematical formulas are used to explain events that happen in nature. These events were always happening, and it just took someone to come along and discover how it was happening. Thats why i think math is discovered. What do you think?

What do you think?

Answer 1

I, too, believe that math is discovered, not invented. The underlying principles and foundations of math just ARE ... they are so fundamental to the fabric of everything. A lot of it we understand, a lot of it we don't. We do not invent math, because we cannot invent something that already exists. We merely discover it.

Sort of like how Columbus (or the Vikings) discovered the North American continent. It was always there; it was just that their cultures didn't know about it yet till they discovered it. They didn't invent it.

Well, that's my opinion anyways! :-)

Answer 2

I think that's like saying that Edison "discovered" the lightbulb by recognizing that if you hook all of the wires and stuff in the right way, you'll get something that can light a room.

I think mathematics is a language, and things like proofs or calculus are created using statements in that language. The whole language is based on a few elementary concepts (axioms), and it's possible that we can change the axioms we get another, equivalent way that can also be used to describe things (see, for example, non-Euclidean geometry).

Calculus, specifically, creates new definitions (for limits, derivatives, and so on), and then uses those definitions to prove other concepts that are consistent with how the world works. But that doesn't mean that we couldn't "invent" some other language that does the same thing calculus doesm but has totally different ways of doing things..

Answer 3

I definetely think math is discovered. Without math the universe would be a huge mess. Calculus has always been around, but Isaac Newton just revealed it to the human mind.

Answer 4

Its all word of mouth. For eons, knowledge of food items have been passed down from generation to generation. Studies in chimps have shown that they teach each other about new food sources. All this started long before our species ever evolved to modern humans. According to anthropologists, milk use started soon after the domestication of cattle. I'm sure some dumb s**t was stupid enough to drink out of a cow's udder. After all, they saw a baby cow do it. And we drink from human "udders" as children. Advances in food preparation is the same as advances in science. Every year, a little more is discovered about the foods we eat and how to prepare it. Some food goes out of fashion. Try reading a cookbook written in the the late 1800's or earlier. A lot of the ingredient names aren't even recognizable. Today, food advances are being made in the field of "Molecular Gastronomy". New things are being discovered all the time. I recently heard that someone discovered how to make balloons out of fruit juice.

Answer 5

I agree with you, because nobody invents anything. We discover things, that´s why we are in the world. There are a lot of obstacles in life which makes discoveries, "inventions". That´s to say, that it is so difficult to reach things, but not impossible because those things exist.

Answer 6

Maths is a language. A formulae or method is invented to express something. Poets don't discover their poems, they invent them. Maths is just like that.
Right?

Answer 7

i don't know........you are right with Pythagorean Theoreme, it seems to be discovered, because it has a real use in life and it's palpable, and also the math till the 9 th grade is real
but after that....i can't see it's use i think it's invented......because what use do you have for...let's say the arithmetic progression?? or derivates, or ??? i don't get it..... when i'm at class i often wonder wtf are we learning that invention??? it has rules and theoremes who i think were invented in concordance with the rest of mathematics to explain inexistent things

Answer 8

I think he discovered certain phenomena and then invented a technique (calculus) to describe them.

Answer 9

I'm with you. Learning is discovering what you already know, to borrow a phrase from Richard Bach.

Answer 10

nope, calculus was made up by newton because he sucks.