WMCF Definition of Mathematics
Mathematics makes up that part of the human conceptual system that is special in the following way:
- "It is precise, consistent, stable across time and human communities, symbolizable, calculable, generalizable, universally available, consistent within each of its subject matters, and effective as a general tool for description, explanation, and prediction in a vast number of everyday activities, sports, to building, business, technology, and science." (WMCF, pp. 50, 377)
Nikolay Lobachevsky said "There is no branch of mathematics, however abstract, which may not some day be applied to phenomena of the real world." A common type of conceptual blending process would seem to apply to the entire mathematical procession. Pythagoras is alleged to have said "All is number."
Read more about this topic: Where Mathematics Comes From
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—The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, the first sentence of the article on “life” (based on wording in the First Edition, 1935)