Member-only story
Everything Is Math
The World — and Our Actions within It—Are Intelligible
“It’s math.” -Barack Obama
Introduction
The notion that math describes the known and unknown behaviors of the universe is not new. The invention of the Cartesian plane by Descartes, the simultaneous discovery of calculus by Leibniz and Newton, and the subsequent formulation of the theory of relativity by Einstein, show that reality is fundamentally mathematically comprehensible.
Most of us are familiar with the notion of the mathematical elegance of the universe, as evidenced by scientific demonstrations. Any number of well-tended experiments can be shown to yield evidence of the inherent harmonies, patterns, and mysteries of nature.
In this article I will attempt to show the various ways in which nature, math, the natural sciences, and the social sciences are interconnected. Math and science are broad fields, but I argue that they can be related to other fields, such as anthropology, economics, and philosophy through a consciousness of the intelligibility and structure of knowledge. My article will cover a number of seemingly disparate topics and authors, including Buddhism, economics, and philosophy.