what is math?

Question

What is math? I've got a BS in it and still have a hard time answering that question. I think in some way it is inexorably linked with humans or something like that. I guess this is more of a philosophy question.

Answer 1

Something to tortute people with...

Answer 2

Mathematics, together with logical theory, is a study that has two characteristics which makes it unique among fields of study, the first being that empirical obsevation is not required for demonstration or proof, the second being that resutls are exactly reproducible and unique. It exists in the abstract, the "truths" it contains are non-abitrary and not subject to majority rule. For this reason, it's often refered to as the "universal language", where not only we can expect people of different lands and times to have uncovered the same mathematical truths, but even extraterrestrials as well. A screw is an helicoid is a surface permitting translation along its axis together with axial rotation, and it uniquely has those properties anywhere in the universe, so a hardware store in another galaxy would have screws. Many physicsts feel that the inherent truths in mathematics may ultimately be the true foundation of all physical reality.

Answer 3

Math (also known as the square root of all evil) is the complex theory that if two bits are one way, the other bits will be another way, except for when there are three bits, or five bits, in which case they will be a completely different way. Utter nonsense.

Answer 4

Mathematics (colloquially, maths, or math in American English) is the body of knowledge centered on concepts such as quantity, structure, space, and change, and the academic discipline which studies them; Benjamin Peirce called it "the science that draws necessary conclusions". It evolved, through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, from counting, calculation, measurement, and the study of the shapes and motions of physical objects. Mathematicians explore such concepts, aiming to formulate new conjectures and establish their truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.

Knowledge and use of basic mathematics have always been an inherent and integral part of individual and group life. Refinements of the basic ideas are visible in ancient mathematical texts originating in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient India, and Ancient China, with increased rigour later introduced by the ancient Greeks. From this point on, the development continued in short bursts until the Renaissance period of the 16th century where mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries leading to an acceleration in understanding that continues to the present day.

Today, mathematics is used throughout the world in many fields, including science, engineering, medicine and economics. The application of mathematics to such fields, often dubbed applied mathematics, inspires and makes use of new mathematical discoveries and has sometimes led to the development of entirely new disciplines. Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics for its own sake without having any practical application in mind, although applications for what begins as pure mathematics are often discovered later.

Answer 5

we all use math every day --- to predict weather, to tell time, to manage money. but math is not just numbers. it's logic. it's rationale. it's solving the most difficult problems in the world.

Answer 6

Pretentious arithmetic.