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"Math" is just a language designed for deductive logic. Lots of science is now being done in other (programming) languages that can fill the same role. Is "math

by nonbel 10y ago

"Math" is just a language designed for deductive logic. Lots of science is now being done in other (programming) languages that can fill the same role. Is "math" still special?

bad_alloc 10y ago
Yes. Math is an universal language. Programming languages are either domain-specific by design or you extend them until they become maths again.
axlprose 10y ago
Until theorem proving is as easy in a programming language as it is in plain old math (last I checked, dependently typed languages were still verbose and cumbersome for this purpose), then Yes, math will still be special because it is the proofs that make it special (also, not all proofs use deductive logic).
goatlover 10y ago
The physicist Max Tegemark claims that the only real properties are mathematical properties. Notice how much physics relies on math. What are the properties of an electron? An electron is understood mathematically.
- aswanson 10y ago
  Yeah, mathematics seems rather meta. If the universe/multiverse we live in turns out to be a simulation, if every scientific discovery turns out to be incorrect, etc....set theory remains. There is something incredibly powerful and beautiful about that.
- Smaug123 10y ago
  Though to get from "every natural law we've been able to characterise so far has turned out to be mathematical in nature" to Tegmark's "nature is literally mathematics" is a big leap that many people are not willing to take.
deleted 10y ago
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throwaway5752 10y ago
First, "a language designed for deductive logic" is not remotely what math is. Second, programming is a limited subset of discrete mathematics. Third, the underpinning of all that science is still math.
Sharlin 10y ago
Math is not a language. Mathematical notation is a language, used to describe math. Programming languages are notations for describing particular mathematical objects.

by nonbel 10y ago

"Math" is just a language designed for deductive logic. Lots of science is now being done in other (programming) languages that can fill the same role. Is "math" still special?

bad_alloc 10y ago

Yes. Math is an universal language. Programming languages are either domain-specific by design or you extend them until they become maths again.

axlprose 10y ago

Until theorem proving is as easy in a programming language as it is in plain old math (last I checked, dependently typed languages were still verbose and cumbersome for this purpose), then Yes, math will still be special because it is the proofs that make it special (also, not all proofs use deductive logic).

goatlover 10y ago

The physicist Max Tegemark claims that the only real properties are mathematical properties. Notice how much physics relies on math. What are the properties of an electron? An electron is understood mathematically.

aswanson 10y ago
Yeah, mathematics seems rather meta. If the universe/multiverse we live in turns out to be a simulation, if every scientific discovery turns out to be incorrect, etc....set theory remains. There is something incredibly powerful and beautiful about that.
Smaug123 10y ago
Though to get from "every natural law we've been able to characterise so far has turned out to be mathematical in nature" to Tegmark's "nature is literally mathematics" is a big leap that many people are not willing to take.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

throwaway5752 10y ago

First, "a language designed for deductive logic" is not remotely what math is. Second, programming is a limited subset of discrete mathematics. Third, the underpinning of all that science is still math.

Sharlin 10y ago

Math is not a language. Mathematical notation is a language, used to describe math. Programming languages are notations for describing particular mathematical objects.