Friday, December 13th, 2013
Why does it seem that reason and math are so very closely linked?
Why are they a good pair?
Math has incorporated our way of reasoning things. Math becomes a language, a process of deduction, that has a logical sequence. This builds a certainty that attracts many people into using it as a way to think. Math also is a language that helps us visualize things. For example, when we count, try to categorize, we usually use a mathematical process (addition, division,...) in order to figure the final amount. Math helps us explain, rationalize, because of the certainty it builds with its clearly defined and seemingly universally accepted language. A person on one side of the globe may understand the mathematical reasoning of someone from the other side (except for minor writing differences), understand the process of the conclusion. Words, that may create ambiguity and have their major power from the source of their open interpretation, do not allow these clear-cut definitions to emerge. Furthermore, math has defined terms. There is usually not much confusion about the "x" that we are talking about, because one of the requirements in math is to have all terms defined. This provides proofs, that are usually irrevocable if the mathematical reasoning and processes behind are correctly performed and carried out. Finally, math defines the absolutes. Of course, zero and infinity are concepts that are open to interpretation. However, math does not necessarily require the grasp of these concepts. It requires that one knows how to apply them in the equation, to have an understanding of the purpose.
Math does not ask people to question the reasoning, and this paradox is what makes math an appealing way of reasoning.
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