Math Magics
December 05, 2017
Is Math True?

MATHEMATICS is often thought to be universally and unassailable true. I have even heard it argued that God, omnipotent though He may be, could not make math false even if He was impulsive enough to try it. Can mathematicians actually prove that math is true? If they cannot, does the fact that math is so useful in solving real world problems provide evidence of its truth? And, if mathematics is not true, then does that imply that conclusions drawn from it are faulty or suspect? These are some of the questions that I will try to address.
The first attempt we might make to prove that mathematics is true is to consider real world situations where mathematical equations seem to appear. Some examples are:
• If I have three red balls in a bag and add two more, the bag will then contain five red balls.
• If I am on a train traveling at three miles per hour and throw a ball at two miles per hour



