Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) / quote 86 of 171

Is mathematics discovered or invented?

Penrose believes that math is precise while the physical world is approximate; Dehaene believes that math is an approximation of the physical world. Penrose believes that the universe is mathematically comprehensible and fundamentally mathematical, and further that mathematics has a mysterious ontological mode of existence independent of both physics and human minds. In contrast, Dehaene believes that the universe is not based on math, because math is essentially a human cultural invention. I agree that mathematics is a human cultural…

Saved 27 January 2018 / www.amazon.com ↗

#mathematics #culture #ontology #metaphysics

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