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Is mathematics a science?
A common answer is that mathematics is not a science.

This conclusion is given by definition. At that time, karl popper gave a relatively recognized characteristic of science, that is, the performance of science lies in its falsifiability. What is falsifiable? If a proposition or conclusion or claim is falsifiable, then at least in theory, there is an observation method (it doesn't matter whether it is true or not) to show that the proposition or conclusion or claim is not true. Take chestnuts for example. For example, the statement that "all tofu brains are sweet" can be falsified by the observation that "a bowl of tofu brains is salty". Although this observation may not really happen, a falsified claim needs to give some definitions of prohibited situations. "All tofu brains are sweet" prohibits the existence of "unsweetened tofu brains", but theoretically there may be "unsweetened tofu brains". Therefore, mathematics, a discipline based on an axiom that cannot be falsified, naturally does not belong to science.

However, this statement is actually more pure mathematics. For applied mathematics or computational mathematics, a large number of experiments are needed to support it, so the importance of the experiment itself increases. In other words, these two branches seem to be "more scientific" ... = = |||

Of course, some people give different answers for various reasons, such as "How come mathematicians are not scientists!" Or metaphysical propositions such as "mathematics is philosophy" and "mathematics is aesthetics", and so on, we will not say it. ...

Author: Antares

Link:/question/21169503/answer/17408097.

Source: Zhihu.

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