Why Mathematics Isn’t Much Different From Religion
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It is within human nature to look to things greater than ourselves for answers. Some turn to religion, some turn to mathematics and/or philosophy. Some worship God(s) and pray they will provide us with guidance. Religion is unknowing, but it is a way of knowing in a world in which we know nothing. Having faith in mathematics is similar to having faith in religion: it is to believe in something intangible which yet is tangible in the minds of believers.
Math and religion are the same in that they both aspire to a sort of grace. They are conscious endeavours to turn abstractions to actuality. They work to uncover truths: truths about the universe, and truths about us. And so religion and mathematics are vehicles in which we turn to, in which some of us devote ourselves to, to find some sort of meaning in a world one could arguably say has none.
Like religion, mathematics transcends time and human culture. Approximately 2500 years ago, the Pythagoreans defined a perfect number as a number that is the sum of all its divisors besides itself. 6 (6 = 1 + 2 + 3) is a perfect number. 28 (28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14) is a perfect number. Then, the Pythagoreans proved that if 2^n-1 is a prime, (2^n-1) * 2^n-1 must be perfect. Over 2000 years later on the basis of these theories, Euler proved that all even perfect numbers maintain these forms. The search for an odd perfect number still remains an avid mathematical pursuit today.
Mathematicians formulate the syntax of arithmetic, and this syntax has the potential to progress. They begin with “marks” that are different from one another. If they can combine these marks written one after the other, they can formulate an expression. If they can arrange these expressions to follow rules, they can formulate formulas. Some formulas are elected as axioms. And through the further refinement of axioms, mathematicians can attain Peano Arithmetic (PA).
PAs are comprised of proofs, which are successions of formulas. Each formula in the proof is a theorem. And so mathematics is an attempt to construct theorems. Like religion, mathematics is an attempt to find truth.
We look to religion for guidance. For thousands of years, we’ve looked to mathematics, in some shape or form, for guidance too. In 4500 B.C, Egyptians…
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