The Greatest Human Invention

[AlphaZNV]

Mathematics...

I've seen lists concerning this topic, as well as forums discussing the greatest human inventions, even the scientific method is included, mathematics (essentially a method) is however, absent.

I've even seen people stating outright that mathematics is a discovery, not an invention, this is the greatest insult to the geniuses who came before us, whom worked so hard to attach mathematics to nature and, to be embedded into nature. Mathematics is found in nature, for anyone who doesn't know, because they made it so, that's why there are many estimations, and many infinite values (such as the famous Pi).

 

Without mathematics, we'd still be living in caves.

As you see, basic mathematics, such as with arithmetic calculations, gives way to the calendar, enabling agriculture.

 

I've even seen a professor on YouTube, describing mathematics as a human "artifact" with less and less value, when the entire modern society is born from mathematics.

 

[ADreamIveDreamt]

I love Mathematics !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The Greats who came before me, I THANK them all!

 

Too many names to list, but Georg Cantor was very helpful.

[swansont]

I think there's a good argument to be made that it's a discovery. Mathematical relationships exist whether we recognize them or not — you say so yourself: found in nature. IMO that doesn't diminish the accomplishments for mathematics, or any of the sciences. Nothing about this implies that discovery is easy.

 

Along those lines, fire is a discovery, but a reliable way of starting a fire would be an invention.

[Dekan]

I think mathematics is a human invention, because it comes from our invention of writing numbers, or numerals, like 1,2,3...

If we didn't have written numbers, mathematics wouldn't be possible. For example, suppose you draw a line in a ring, to make a circle. Then draw a straight line, from one side of the circle, across the centre, to the other side.

 

How would you express the difference in the length of the two lines?

If you weren't using numbers, you could only say - the round line is quite a lot longer than the straight line. Which is probably how pre-numerate humans, and non-human animals perceive the difference, if they consider it at all.

 

Only by using written numbers can you express the difference mathematically as 355/113.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Dekan

[John Cuthber]

May I interrupt at this point and ask just how far the mathematicians would have got without language?

[photon propeller]

Swansont is 100 percent correct. The universe and its mathematical constants existed from the beginning of time, long before the arrival of man and the language or numbers by which man labels it, and will exist long after we are gone. I wonder how many alien civilizations have come and gone, labeling it, yet not understanding it fully, and destroying themselves in the process.

[swansont]

I think mathematics is a human invention, because it comes from our invention of writing numbers, or numerals, like 1,2,3...

If we didn't have written numbers, mathematics wouldn't be possible. For example, suppose you draw a line in a ring, to make a circle. Then draw a straight line, from one side of the circle, across the centre, to the other side.

 

How would you express the difference in the length of the two lines?

If you weren't using numbers, you could only say - the round line is quite a lot longer than the straight line. Which is probably how pre-numerate humans, and non-human animals perceive the difference, if they consider it at all.

 

Only by using written numbers can you express the difference mathematically as 355/113.

 

But one line is longer than the other regardless of your knowledge of mathematics. That underlying truth does not require human intervention. As opposed to, say, reliable and rapid replication of the written word requiring the printing press, which started happening only after its invention.

[Bignose]

I think the greatest human invention is farming. To use the criteria above, things would grow from seeds whether human were around or not. But the act of choosing what to plant, to cultivate the plants that reliably gave us the best produce, that's the invention in my mind.

 

I also think you can reasonably successfully farm without mathematics. Plant stuff when it is no longer cold. Harvest stuff when it is done growing. Mathematics makes agriculture more scientific for sure. But I think it can be done pretty successfully without math.

[AlphaZNV]

No, mathematical relationships do not exist, however, relationships, when modelled simply, seem to exist.

You quoted me, however, out of context, as mathematics being found in nature, is due to the fact that the great minds before us made it so.

According to your profile, you achieved a PhD in a field of physics, you amongst all other should know best, that mathematics, when applied on different levels, varies hugely, and many mathematical concepts in physics results in estimations.

Gravity for example, applied on our scale is accurate, when however, on a much smaller scale, the same laws no longer apply, gravity itself is no longer the same constant, but accordingly.

Hence, in modelling gravity, if to be accurate, relationships realistically do not exist, however, estimations can be derived in many creative ways, this is where the relationship exist.

 

Fire itself, is a discovery.

Methods for starting a fire however, is an invention.

Mathematics is a very ingenious method for us to model anything (which some people might be hesitant to accept).

Certain constants do exist, and we use mathematics as the method, a human invention to make it simpler for us to understand.

Whether 1 line is longer than the other or not, doesn't change the fact that with methods of mathematics, not only can you establish relationships, but with relationships, can result in many conclusion and therefor result in many predictions of other similar circumstances.

 

As repeated, nature is not of whole numbers, if with 100% accuracy (down even to the Higgs Boson, and I there say something we yet do not grasp), there will be many estimations, and many forced relationships which provides an estimation that suits the scale in which the application is applied.

 

Galileo - "Measure what is measureable, and make measureable what is not." This, the underlying magnificence of mathematics.

Suggesting farming as the most important invention, discussing this with an electronic device which, accessing the WWW through the Internet, enables you to communicate to me. These, the design, creation and distribution is born from mathematics.

Look around your room, even simple materials (requiring a level of molar calculations such as percentage of compounds) requires the method, everything electronic must be modelled with mathematics, otherwise there will be too much trial and error to endure, economics, politics (such as industry, national census etc.), even the social sciences (algorithm detailing human behaviourism) and music, when modelled with mathematics, flourish and reach their full potential. Many people do not realise because they do not have interest, not knowing that mathematics is being applied in every field to revolutionise it. Even art, giving birth to architecture when combined, which many people do not seem to know.

Edited November 14, 2013 by AlphaZNV

[cladking]

May I interrupt at this point and ask just how far the mathematicians would have got without language?

 

I believe this points to the greatest invention.

 

 

 

 

Like math I consider language a discovery as well. It required the ability to form and understand ideas and a logical system of language might have required some intelligence as well but all these processes are more similar to discovery than invention. In this light I consider Writing to be the greatest invention since it allowed a single teacher to have numerous students even long after his death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certainly agriculture was of supreme importance and more complicated than language. in terms of the ability of the human race to thrive and increase population agriculture might be the most important invention unless the internet beat it. But in terms of the ability of the human race to progress and learn writing is number one and the printing press that made it ubiquitous was number two.

[EdEarl]

The distinction between discovery and invention seems elusive. I'm sure fire was discovered, because it occurs in nature quite often, but was it also a discovery to capture fire for personal use, rather than run from it?

For the same reasons, I consider the predecessor of writing, rhyme and song, the greatest invention. Without rhyme and song, cultural lessons would not have been carried as accurately from generation to generation. Even today, rhyme and songs teach basic counting and writing skills, for example, "One, two buckle my shoe, three, four shut the door, ...," and "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, ... Now I know my ABCs." An ancient Greek poem is a farmers almanac. Because of other advanced forms of communication, rhyme and song are less important than they once were, but they remain important to our culture.

[Mike Smith Cosmos]

If we are going down a route to the greatest discovery/ invention ..

 

Then I would give my " two penny worth " as

 

HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

 

That feeling, every time we wake up, aware through all our senses that we are alive and aware.

 

Mike

[AlphaZNV]

Language and writing is indeed very important, but as the greatest invention?

It certainly propelled us very early on, however, I would say that the greatest inventions are the ones we take for granted today, which without, not only will we begin to die off from extreme famine, but you and I might not have survived in the first place.

It is, mathematics maximizing the fields of agriculture, economics, politics, biochemistry (hence medicine), machinery etc.

[Ophiolite]

Salesmanship.