tough question from a 6-year-old

HDSarah · Post by **HDSarah** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:51 pm

fyffer wrote: BTW, this thread bears a call to arms for the other math geeks out there. New thread coming ...

Another math geek, checking in.

Where's the new thread you mentioned?

I agree with what others said about speaking to a 6-year-old in terms she can understand. As to the broader question of "what is math?" (or "what are mathematics?") in general, that's a tough one. You'll probably have better luck getting the NON-math geeks to commit to an answer -- to those of us who love math, the field is so vast and beautiful that we have a hard time knowing where to begin a description.

As for the picture, I never knew an Irish Water Spaniel would hold still long enough to develop barnacles.

(It IS an Irish Water Spaniel, isn't it?) Having had golden retrievers for several decades but now owning a Labrador retriever, I no longer make jokes about Labs being for people who don't have the gumption to groom a golden. That's me now, and loving it!

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:32 pm

I've wondered, does math exist in the universe or only in our thoughts? If we never discovered it, would it exist? You could ask the same about music.
Tony

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:40 pm

TonyHiggins wrote:I've wondered, does math exist in the universe or only in our thoughts? If we never discovered it, would it exist? You could ask the same about music.
Tony

I have one word: fractals. I personally can't look at a photo of a snowflake or any number of other things that exhibit fractal growth without thinking of math. Putting it into terms we understand is a human thing, but the actual stuff of math is intrinsic to nature.

HDSarah · Post by **HDSarah** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:58 am

TonyHiggins wrote:does math exist in the universe or only in our thoughts?

Ah, one of the big questions in philosophy of mathematics: is mathematics "created" or "discovered"? I lean toward the "created" camp.

"God made the integers, all else is the work of man."

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:14 pm

I can half agree with that

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:53 pm

HDSarah wrote:Ah, one of the big questions in philosophy of mathematics: is mathematics "created" or "discovered"? I lean toward the "created" camp.

Something along the lines of the tree falling in the forest; do the numbers exist if there is no-one to count them?

djm

HDSarah · Post by **HDSarah** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:43 pm

Which is an irresistable opener for:

If a man says something in the forest and no one hears him, is he still wrong?

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:00 pm

aw....you're teasin'....you know he is

ketida · Post by **ketida** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:07 pm

SteveShaw wrote:Maths is the school subject that causes thousands of potential physics students to turn into biology students.

Me included.

Hey, wait a minute. I loved math, biology, and physics.
What's that make me?

A-Musing · Post by **A-Musing** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:21 am

Math?

You-Me-Them-Us-It. Anything Else?