Mathematics

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Mathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.

There is debate over whether mathematical objects such as numbers and points really exist or whether they are manmade. The mathematician Benjamin Peirce called mathematics "the science that draws necessary conclusions". Albert Einstein, on the other hand, stated that "as far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

Through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, mathematics evolved from counting, calculation, measurement, and the systematic study of the shapes and motions of physical objects. Practical mathematics has been a human activity for as far back as written records go (see: History of Mathematics). Rigorous arguments first appeared in Greek mathematics, most notably in Euclid's Elements. Mathematics continued to develop, in fitful bursts, until the Renaissance, when mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries, leading to an acceleration in research that continues to the present day.

Today, mathematics is used throughout the world as an essential tool in many fields, including natural science, engineering, medicine, and the social sciences. Applied mathematics, the branch of mathematics concerned with application of mathematical knowledge to other fields, inspires and makes use of new mathematical discoveries and sometimes leads to the development of entirely new disciplines. Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics, or mathematics for its own sake, without having any application in mind, although practical applications for what began as pure mathematics are often discovered later.

For more information about Mathematics, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with mathematics

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Putting math problems in proper order

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Mathematics is driven by the quest to solve problems and today the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) announces a new tool to help attack those questions. Research problems can take decades or centuries to answer, with ...


Mathematics prize goes to University of Chicago's Hannah Alpert

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Association for Women in Mathematics has named Hannah Alpert, a third-year mathematics major at the University of Chicago, a co-winner of the 2010 Alice T. Schafer Prize for excellence in mathematics ...


What computer science can teach economics

What computer science can teach economics

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Computer scientists have spent decades developing techniques for answering a single question: How long does a given calculation take to perform? Constantinos Daskalakis, an assistant professor ...


Active hearing process in mosquitoes

Active hearing process in mosquitoes

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A mathematical model has explained some of the remarkable features of mosquito hearing. In particular, the male can hear the faintest beats of the female's wings and yet is not deafened by loud noises.





Search results for mathematics


Stanford's Dostoevsky biographer concludes acclaimed series

Other Sciences / Other

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Everything was silent in St. Petersburg's Semenovsky Square. On the cold December day in 1849, the snow fell softly on the soldiers, on the crowd and on the ragged prisoners who unexpectedly found themselves blinking at the ...


NASA Challenges 350 Rocketeers Nationwide to Aim a Mile High

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has invited more than 350 student rocketeers from middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities -- 37 teams nationwide -- to take part in the 2009-2010 NASA Student Launch Projects.


Probing Question: Is forensic science on TV accurate?

Probing Question: Is forensic science on TV accurate?

Other Sciences / Other

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Turn on the television any evening and you're apt to see a scene such as this: Five crime scene investigators, or CSIs, return to the crime scene at night to follow up on some leads. CSI Kathryn Willows looks ...


CSIRO researchers create giant waves

CSIRO researchers create giant waves -- virtually

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- CSIRO scientists have created 'rogue waves' more than 20 metres high and smashed them into virtual oil and gas production platforms to compare different mooring designs.


Study reveals the paths of Ontario secondary students to their post-secondary destinations

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A new study by researchers at Queen's University looking at the transitions young people make from secondary school to university, college, apprenticeship and the workplace found that over 60 percent of first-year college ...


Engineering professor creates mobile lab for testing bridges

Engineering professor creates mobile lab for testing bridges

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Civil engineering students at the University of Rhode Island will soon take to the roadways to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real-world analyses of bridges, buildings and ...


Home Field Advantage Often Overestimated In College Football

Home Field Advantage Often Overestimated In College Football

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

This year, many of college football's biggest rivalry games take place over Thanksgiving weekend. A win earns bragging rights for the year. Visiting teams are often thought to be at a considerable disadvantage, ...


Dutch PhD student develops device to combat noise

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (15) | comments 16

Johan Wesselink of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, has developed a device to actively combat noise nuisance. This invention curtails sound waves and vibrations by producing anti-noise. The researcher is confident ...


Ancient Greek Temple

Houses of the rising sun: Research sheds new light on Ancient Greeks

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 4

New research at the University of Leicester has identified scores of Sicilian temples built to face the rising Sun, shedding light on the practices of the Ancient Greeks.


Explained: The Discrete Fourier Transform

Explained: The Discrete Fourier Transform

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (36) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1811, Joseph Fourier, the 43-year-old prefect of the French district of Isčre, entered a competition in heat research sponsored by the French Academy of Sciences. The paper he submitted ...



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