Is Mathematics a Science?

I don't see it as a science, but I can see why it's classed as a science, although I would define it as tool you then go on to use and apply it in a chosen field, i.e. science, engineering etc.
 
hendrix said:
If it isn't a Science, then what is it?
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Depends how you're looking / applying I guess,

Wikipedia has a lot on it:

Wikipedia said:
Is mathematics a science?

Carl Friedrich Gauss referred to mathematics as "the Queen of the Sciences".

If one considers science to be strictly about the physical world, then mathematics, or at least pure mathematics, is not a science. An alternative view is that certain scientific fields (such as theoretical physics) are mathematics with axioms that are intended to correspond to reality. In fact, the theoretical physicist, J. M. Ziman, proposed that science is public knowledge and thus includes mathematics. [1]

In any case, mathematics shares much in common with many fields in the physical sciences, notably the exploration of the logical consequences of assumptions. Intuition and experimentation also play a role in the formulation of conjectures in both mathematics and the (other) sciences.
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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics
 
Maths is the thing i struggle with the most, i think its due to my unlogical brain, i prefer to be creative and have interpretations on things
 
I have always considered pure Mathmatics to be separate from Science, despite the integration of Maths into many areas of Science.
 
I've always enjoyed Maths because I know that there is a going to be an answer, its just a case of getting there. Think i've realised since starting my Physics degree that I would have prefered a Maths degree.

Maths is a fundamental part of most subjects and as such is pretty hard to classify into one single area.

Edit: Blatent contradiction with my first post, but still :p
 
I've always thought of science as understanding how our universe works (physics, chemistry, biology, geology etc..) whereas maths is simply a tool to help us understand and implement it. If you think about it there could be a very different math, it might not use numbers as we know them.. we created maths whereas science just is..

ha ha its prett hard to explain. CONCLUSION: I wouldnt class maths as a science but rather the most powerful tool we have.

Joe
 
Maths explains just about everything in some way or other. Even something as individual as beauty is all down to Mathematics.

If you can class Physics or Chemistry as a science, then surely Maths in its purest form has to be a science because its how everything "fits together" rather than focussing on one specific part of the way things are.

Everything, to some extent or other, is a focussed application of Mathematics. It is something there to be discovered, explored and expanded.

Unquestionably a science in my view.
 
I didnt think maths was a science because everything in mathmatics can be proven one way or another :) A lot of Science is theory based in terms of space/time etc.

I dunno though lol. Just my 2 p's worth :p
 
When maths is applied to a physical problem it is regarded as physics.

If it is not being used to describe the physical then it is dealing with an abstract, so it becomes closer to philosophy.

Maths may exist without science, it is the foundation of science, and not a science in itself.

For a simple looking question it's definitely a chin scratcher
 
Personally I think that Maths, in it's purest form, is just..... fact. However, the techniques which we use to understand it, and to manipulate data to our advantage, is a science. Put it this way:

31*12 = 372 is a fact.
However, the techniques we use to verify or confirm that fact ("working it out" if you like) is a science.

But of course, maybe my definition of "science" is different to that of other people.

Maybe another way of looking at it is that the term "Mathematics" has taken on a much broader scope than I would like. To me, mathematics isn't something which can be learnt per se; it exists whether or not you know how to access and utilise it or not. It's the foundation of a lot of science. I've got a degree in mathematics and to be honest I'd class a lot of what I was taught to be, in essence, a science rather than pure math.
 
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