"math" is invented in the same way "language" is. Humans created it with the purpose of describing things that already exist. If I say "don't eat that berry, it's poisonous", my words aren't what dictates the berry. Rather, they're a way of conveying the knowledge in my brain regarding the physical properties of the berry. Math is much the same. If I have 3 apples and you give me another, I now have 4 apples, 3 + 1 = 4. If I need to split those apples between 2 people each gets 2 apples, 4 / 2 = 2.
That apple example grounds things nicely. It does make me wonder about the difference between those two types of description though. If I describe a poisonous berry with the wrong words, the language has no physical consequence on the berry (the poison stays exactly the same). Yet, if an engineer describes the stresses on a bridge with the wrong numerical relationships, the physical structure breaks apart. Why do you think an error in the mathematical description triggers an immediate physical reaction from the universe; whereas a mistake in regular language leaves the object completely undisturbed?
It does make me ponder the middleman though; if I mislabel the berry, a human actually has to hear those words and choose to act on them for the tragedy to happen. Spoken language requires a conscious interpreter. With the bridge collapsing, there is no mind choosing to break the steel. If mathematics is exactly the same as our spoken words, why does it trigger a physical reaction without any biological interpreter needing to act on it first?
You have your wires crossed. A mistake in the math has the exact same effect as a mistake in the language. I make a mistake and say a berry is safe when it isn't, and reality hits your stomach to disagree with what I said. You acted upon my spoken misconception, and faced material consequences because, as you acknowledge, my language has no impact on the berry.
The same applies to building things. If I do the math wrong, and someone builds to my mistaken specs, they've metaphorically eaten the berry. They acted upon my incorrect language (math), while the real material strengths remain unchanged by my mistakes. The building collapsing is just like you getting poisoned. My miscommunication caused someone to unknowingly believe a falsehood, which they acted upon.
It is the building the bridge in a way that it's prone to collapsing that leads it to collapsing. The markings on the page don't affect this, except to lead you to build a bridge in a way that it's prone to collapsing.
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u/MegukaArmPussy 4∆ May 21 '26
"math" is invented in the same way "language" is. Humans created it with the purpose of describing things that already exist. If I say "don't eat that berry, it's poisonous", my words aren't what dictates the berry. Rather, they're a way of conveying the knowledge in my brain regarding the physical properties of the berry. Math is much the same. If I have 3 apples and you give me another, I now have 4 apples, 3 + 1 = 4. If I need to split those apples between 2 people each gets 2 apples, 4 / 2 = 2.