[p-e-w]

Most modern mathematicians don't view mathematics as "representing" any aspect of reality. Instead, the prevailing philosophy today is that mathematics deals with objects that are created/defined by mathematics itself, and that any apparent correspondence to reality is a useful heuristic, not a fundamental truth.

As a basic example, consider a circle, which is a mathematical object defined as the set of points with a fixed distance from a given point. There are no circles in the physical world. There cannot be, because there are no "points" (objects without extent) either. Instead, there exist arrangements of matter that approximate circles in some more-or-less loosely defined sense.