Is mathematics a science?

[devrimci_kürt]

Mathematics is certainly a science in the broad sense of "systematic and formulated knowledge", but most people use "science" to refer only to the natural sciences. Since mathematics provides the language in which the natural sciences aspire to describe and analyse the universe, there is a natural link between mathematics and the natural sciences. Indeed schools, universities, and government agencies usually lump them together. (1) On the other hand, most mathematicians do not consider themselves to be scientists and vice versa. So is mathematics a natural science? (2) The natural sciences investigate the physical universe but mathematics does not, so mathematics is not really a natural science. This leaves open the subtler question of whether mathematics is essentially similar in method to the natural sciences in spite of the difference in subject matter. I do not think it is

http://euclid.trentu.ca/math/sb/misc/mathsci.html

 

what do you think?

[ajb]

A similar discussion is already underway in this thread.

 

Mathematics does in some sence use the scientific method and even experiments.