Is math real?

Aerozord · 12-24-2014, 03:44 AM

So I was feeling philosophical. Now there is no known answer to this question, but I wished to know what people thought.

Is "math" a fact of the universe or simply a thing humans invented to try and understand the universe? Do you think if we met an alien race our math would be the same? Does 2+2=4 because this is factual or because we humans have decreed four individual similar items grouped together are given a single value of four?

In many ways its a "if a tree falls in the forest" scenario. Would math still exist if we were not there to codify it?

12-24-2014, 03:44 AM	#1
Aerozord So we are clear Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Former murder capital of the world Posts: 13,824	Is math real? So I was feeling philosophical. Now there is no known answer to this question, but I wished to know what people thought. Is "math" a fact of the universe or simply a thing humans invented to try and understand the universe? Do you think if we met an alien race our math would be the same? Does 2+2=4 because this is factual or because we humans have decreed four individual similar items grouped together are given a single value of four? In many ways its a "if a tree falls in the forest" scenario. Would math still exist if we were not there to codify it? __________________ "don't hate me for being a heterosexual white guy disparaging slacktivism, hate me for all those murders I've done."