markp (05/11/82)
I can't resist throwing this out for discussion-- "Mathematics" : The search for (and study of) structure, undertaken for the sake of structure, and performed in a structured fashion. Mark R. Paulin
jcwinterton (05/12/82)
Mathematics ::= That branch of philosophy in which a system is constructed from the logical consequences of a set of axioms which may have no basis in reality. John Winterton.
jtb (05/12/82)
Your definition --- the search for structure ... could just as well be a definition for \Science/, ro for philosophy, or for meta-physics. Its too vague. John Burgess
davido (05/13/82)
I think we need to be a bit more precise in our use of the word "science". It can be defined quite nicely as an activity involving the scientific method, i.e. a discipline in which the scientist formulates an hypothesis and then works hard to disprove that hypothesis. (How much of "Computer Science" is *really* science?)