Frank Mayhar wrote: > > David Rodemaker wrote: > > At it's most basic it certainly is. I measure this quantity > > (or count it if you prefer): 1 rock + 1 rock = 2 rocks. My > > arguement is that when you take mathematics beyond the > > concrete and discrete you are taking it's 'truths' as a > > matter of faith. Not only that but we do it despite a whole > > series of famous series of paradoxes and proofs that we > > then label as clearly nonsensical and should be ignored when > > applying mathematics in 'the real world'. > > I suspect that a mathematician (or a physicist) would > disagree with you. (I am, of course, neither.) OK, so I only have a B.S. in Math, so as mathematicians go, I'm pretty low on the hierarchy, but 1+1=2 is arithmetic, not mathematics. Mathematics starts when you begin exploring those things that aren't concrete or discrete. The Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Arithmetic most of us studied up through high school simply gives you the tools to begin exploring Calculus, Abstract Algebra, Analysis, Statistics, etc. Casey