Related papers: Why I don't like "pure mathematics"
This article, dedicated, with admiration to Reuben Hersh, for his forthcoming 90th birthday, argues that mathematics today is not yet a science, but that it is high time that it should become one.
This essay considers ways that recent uses of computers in mathematics challenge contemporary views on the nature of mathematical understanding. It also puts these challenges in a historical perspective and offers speculation as to a…
In recent paper "Quantifying Inequities and Documenting Elitism in PhD-granting Mathematical Sciences Departments in the United States" (arXiv:2308.13750) by a group of accomplished and/or aspiring mathematicians, the authors use data to…
If there is a "platonic world" M of mathematical facts, what does M contain precisely? I observe that if M is too large, it is uninteresting, because the value is in the selection, not in the totality; if it is smaller and interesting, it…
Even though every mathematician knows intuitively what it means to "simplify" a mathematical expression, there is still no universally accepted rigorous mathematical definition of "simplify". In this paper, we shall give a simple and…
Research universities in the United States have larger mathematics faculties outside their mathematics departments than inside. Members of this "extensive" faculty conduct most mathematics research, their interests are the most heavily…
As David Berlinski writes (1997), the existence and nature of mathematics is a more compelling and far deeper problem than any of the problems raised by mathematics itself. Here we analyze the essence of mathematics making the main emphasis…
Mathematics has many useful properties for developing of complex software systems. One is that it can exactly describe a physical situation of the object or outcome of an action. Mathematics support abstraction and this is an excellent…
A sketch of some of the fundamental notions related to the nature of knowledge is offered, with special focus on the role of mathematics and my own opinions. No single idea exposed here is entirely original; indeed, this topic has been…
A definition of what counts as an explanation of mathematical statement, and when one explanation is better than another, is given. Since all mathematical facts must be true in all causal models, and hence known by an agent, mathematical…
The aim of this work is to show that contemporary mathematics, including Peano arithmetic, is inconsistent, to construct firm foundations for mathematics, and to begin building on these foundations.
It is rare to succeed in getting mathematics into ordinary conversation without meeting all kinds of reservations. In order to raise public awareness of mathematics effectively, it is necessary to modify such attitudes. In this paper, we…
We report on a pedagogical experiment to make mathematics easy by changing its philosophy. The Western philosophy of math originated in religious beliefs about mathesis, cursed by the church. Later, mathematics was "reinterpreted", in a…
Physics and mathematics are difficult enough without the aditional burden of bad habits. In this article, we examine some helpful habits that tend to be underemphasized by many physics teachers (mainly because they seem so obvious!).
In this articles we consider very mathematical (if not very plausible) geometric marching. Our marchers will exhibit beautiful mathematics, some familiar and some less so. In a final summary section we discuss the point of all the fancy…
Modern mathematics is known for its rigorous proofs and tight analysis. Math is the paradigm of objectivity for most. We identify the source of that objectivity as our knowledge of the physical world given through our senses. We show in…
The ability to read, write, and speak mathematics is critical to students becoming comfortable with statistical models and skills. Faster development of those skills may act as encouragement to further engage with the discipline. Vocabulary…
Physics makes powerful use of mathematics, yet the way this use is made is often poorly understood. Professionals closely integrate their mathematical symbology with physical meaning, resulting in a powerful and productive structure. But…
Many have wondered how mathematics, which appears to be the result of both human creativity and human discovery, can possibly exhibit the degree of success and seemingly-universal applicability to quantifying the physical world as…
These are notes on discrete mathematics for computer scientists. The presentation is somewhat unconventional. Indeed I begin with a discussion of the basic rules of mathematical reasoning and of the notion of proof formalized in a natural…