Name: Manuel R. Joson Jr.

Year & Course: 2nd Year – BSChE

Subject & Class: GEC104 B1-1

Math is Invented: A Reaction Paper

Although I acknowledge that mathematics can be considered both discovered and

invented, I personally think that mathematics is invented. Listening to the informal debate, there
was a lack of identification of terms, most importantly, mathematics itself. The discovered side
has given out an argument that mathematics is discovered because, in particle physics, molecules
(mostly just ideal gases) follow a set of rules in kinetic motion. This is arguably a misconception
as it implies that natural phenomena itself is mathematics, therefore, this lack of identification
convoluted the whole debate and made no sense. I personally don’t believe that natural
phenomena and mathematics are the same thing. I believe that we invented mathematics to
understand natural phenomena. On the surface, mathematics is a set of symbols following logical
operation systems that we invented. On the deeper end, these symbols perform to help us
quantify the physical world. Quantities only exist if someone is counting them. There could be a
thousand trees spawning in the physical realm, but if there is no intersubjective realm to believe
that there are a thousand trees, that number merely is just a bunch of green living beings trying to
live.