Viewing Single Post From: Mathematics

Viewing Single Post From: Mathematics
Rin	Sep 25 2008, 02:44 AM
TOTALLY A MAN Posts: 2,148 Group: Veteran Member #111 Joined: June 10, 2005	Whoa...what am I doing in the debate forum!? Anyway, mathematics. Was it invented or discovered? It's been a long running debate now and we've just discussed it in my Theory of Knowledge class. I have to say the debate's intrigued me. There are strong arguments from both sides so as of yet I'm still undecided on which way I lean. I'm interested in what all of you have to say on the matter, and hopefully I can get a clear opinion of my own before I write my extended essay for IB. People may argue that the measure of probability is an invented concept. No, I don't mean probability on its own. I mean the measure of probability, where we restrict the possible outcomes to lie between 0 and 1. 0 for no chance of happening, 1 for it definitely happening, and 1/2 for halfway. Sure the idea of probability exists, but as humans we've invented a way of measuring that. It won't make a difference if we place the restrictions between 1000 and 10000. So is mathematics simply invented? Maybe not. Maybe it's always been there and mathematicians have just discovered the principles. For example the Golden Ratio, or the Fibonacci sequence. The sequence of numbers itself could simply be a function stumbled upon by some bored dude (Fibonacci) who decided to start at one and add terms within the set. However, this ratio occurs in the natural world; in flowers, in the Nautilus shell, in music written by Mozart. Could this suggest that the sequence had already existed and was discovered? Of course there are other examples, but I won't go into them. The question now is what have you all got to say about it?
	Av and Sig were definitely not made by Pendant or fez.

Mathematics · Debate Forum