Is Mathematics an Invention or a Discovery of What Already Exists?

Essentially, mathematics is not limited to the four operations we learn at a young age. From thousands of years ago until today, many ideas and theories about mathematics have been put forward. In particular, some theories Mathematics is not just about numbers shows clearly.

In this content, we will give examples of how mathematics exists even in places we never expected. We will evaluate the opinions on how this science emerged and leave the decision to you..

In fact, the story of mathematics is as old as humanity.

Mathematics is where civilizations emerged and professions diversified. 600 BC to calculate people’s taxes and measure parcels was used. After 100 years, Roman numerals representing numbers began to develop.

Scientists also believe that basic mathematical operations such as addition and subtraction may have emerged thousands of years ago in places as diverse as Egypt, India and Mesopotamia. The history of advanced mathematics is mathematician Pythagoras’ famous equation It dates back to Greece 2500 years ago.

For example, this equation is what we now know as the Pythagorean theorem. It is associated with the sides of a right-angled triangle. After Pythagoras put forward this theorem, many mathematicians tried to improve their understanding of mathematics, but no one could find the only real answer to this question.

In fact, some mathematical ideas are so fundamental that it is impossible for these ideas and theories not to be discovered until today.

Mathematics is almost a language of science and its structures come from nature. Even if the universe disappears one day tomorrow mathematical facts will continue to exist. It is up to us, humans, to discover it, understand its functioning and develop it.

Many mathematicians also support this view. These mathematical ideas can be thought of as a discovery of truth rather than a discovery. For example, there is no largest prime number and pi is When expressed in decimal numbers it goes on forever.

Mathematics can provide answers to many universal questions and can also find a place in nature. One of the clearest examples that mathematics can be found in nature is the golden ratio.

The golden ratio represents the most predictable patterns within the universe. Tornado shapes, atoms, dimensions of the galaxy, right down to the human face and body It can contain everything. This ratio is the ratio of parts (a) and (b) equal to (a+b) divided by the larger part (a).

The golden ratio is worth approximately 1.618, it is also divine ratio Also known as. It is also derived from the Fibonacci sequence, named after the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci.

Each number in the series, 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55… It gives the sum of the two numbers before it. The Fibonacci sequence has attracted the attention of many scientists, mathematicians and artists for many years.

Fibonacci sequence; There are even places we would never expect, such as animals, primates, plants and seashells.

For example, the leaves of flowers also follow this sequence. If you pay attention, the leaves of a flower It is 3,5,8,13,21,34 or 55. Lilies have 3 petals, dandelions and daisies have 21 petals, and Michaelmas daisies have 55 petals. This is one of the best proofs that mathematics exists in nature.

So, is mathematics a work we created?

Actually, the answer to this question is quite controversial. Some people who are anti-Plato and believe that mathematics was invented, This goes against the idea that science has been discovered. These people view mathematics as a human invention designed to describe the physical world.

If we look at it from a different perspective, in the first place, each of us used natural numbers (1,2,3,4,5…) to count the objects around us. Later we invented many concepts such as negative, rational, irrational, complex numbers and so on. When we look at it in this sense, mathematics, to serve our purposes rather than to occur in nature. It can also be said that it has been developed.

In summary, debates between those who think that mathematics is an invention and those who claim it is a discovery can last for years.

Because when viewed from both frameworks separately, There are facts to confirm both ideas. But given that this problem has existed for nearly 2,300 years, it seems unlikely that this mystery will be solved any time soon.

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