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| Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory - Coquimbo Region Chile |
E = MC2
Albert Einstein once wondered: “How is it possible that mathematics, a product of human thought that is independent of experience, fits so excellently the objects of physical reality?” Sir Isaac Newton formulated a mathematical law of universal gravitation that has proved to be better than 99.99999% precise yet, due to technological limitations of his time, Newton himself could only verify to an accuracy of less than 4%.
It was once thought that the universe was comprised solely of a substance called ether. Matter, it was postulated, was the result of "knots" in this ether. Knot theory evolved as an obscure branch of pure mathematics in an attempt to explain this phenomenon. Amazingly, this abstract endeavor now finds extensive modern applications in topics ranging from molecular chemistry, particle physics and even statistical mechanics. The same exact "knot" equation, for example, can be used to explain stock option pricing and the agitated motion of pollen suspended in a liquid.
So how can we explain these incredible powers of mathematics? And fundamentally, what does this all mean? Are we merely discovering mathematics, like an astronomer discovers a previously unknown comet or asteroid? Or, is mathematics a purely human invention?
These really aren’t questions I can answer... but I can certainly contemplate their profound significance. It is a significance written in symmetry and logic. The evocative poetry of mathematics transcends experience and attempts to lay bare creation itself. Whether we want to call that God or some sublime inspiration, it doesn't matter because it's a tangible place where all rational minds can meet.
"Mathematics and logic, historically speaking, have been entirely distinct studies. Mathematics has been connected with science, logic with Greek. But both have developed in modern times: logic has become more mathematical and mathematics has become more logical. The consequence is that it has now become wholly impossible to draw a line between the two; in fact, the two are one. They differ as boy and man: logic is the youth of mathematics and mathematics is the manhood of logic."
~ Bertrand Russell
