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Mathematical notation is invented but what about the patterns it describes? Did someone invent the notion of exponential growth or decay? Or did we discover t
by alphanumeric0 5y ago
Mathematical notation is invented but what about the patterns it describes? Did someone invent the notion of exponential growth or decay? Or did we discover this mathematical pattern in many different areas of study?
Also, from Wikipedia: "Most of mathematical activity consists of discovering and proving (by pure reasoning) properties of abstract objects. These objects are either abstractions from nature (such as natural numbers or "a line"), or (in modern mathematics) abstract entities that are defined by their basic properties, called axioms." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics
- garbagetime 5y agoI agree that some mathematical concepts, such as exponential growth, are expressed in nature. But does the fact that a thing is expressed in nature imply that it cannot be invented? And what of mathematical concepts not expressed in nature? On a different point, I'd argue that all conceptual inventions are discoveries. So, showing that a mathematical concept was discovered would not be enough to prove it was not invented.