Mathematics and Art

I once heard somebody say, I don't remember his name, that you can tell where a philosopher is coming from by what she says about mathematics. I think that is true.

The central question in the philosophy of mathematics is whether mathematics is discovered or whether it is created. I think it is created, but I think all of our higher studies are created. That includes science, art, philosophy, and religion. I don't mean to say they have nothing to do with the world, for each endeavor must mesh with the world at some points to make any sense.

Some people might find it strange to think of mathematics as akin to art. However, mathematics, once considered the ultimate test of reality, has gotten to the stage where most or at least much of it really does not have an application. That's not a bad thing. You never know when the creations of mathematicians might find an application in other studies.

Art has its practical uses, but when I stroll through the museum I do not ask what use it is. I feel the same about mathematics. I recall Pythagorus's proof that the square root of two is irrational, or Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many prime numbers, and I delight in their beauty rather than what earthly good I can use them for.

Whatever good things we may have accomplished as a species, we got there because of our imaginations and our delight in imagining.