I don’t love the tone here, but I do think you get at a key question in mathematical philosophy.
Mathematicians have engaged, vigorously, on this very philosophical question for centuries - is math discovered truth, or is it more akin to building an edifice where you first define the materials, then the structure, and see where it leads?
There are lots of strong feelings on both sides. For instance: “God created the integers, the rest is the creation of man” — Kronecker, 19th century sums up one particular perspective.
To me, it’s probably a mix of both - some fantastic results in imaginary numbers show up as describing key electromagnetic effects many decades after they were first ‘discovered’ by theoretical mathematicians.
NB: My original comment led with a pejorative, which was rightly flagged.
Mathematicians have engaged, vigorously, on this very philosophical question for centuries - is math discovered truth, or is it more akin to building an edifice where you first define the materials, then the structure, and see where it leads?
There are lots of strong feelings on both sides. For instance: “God created the integers, the rest is the creation of man” — Kronecker, 19th century sums up one particular perspective.
To me, it’s probably a mix of both - some fantastic results in imaginary numbers show up as describing key electromagnetic effects many decades after they were first ‘discovered’ by theoretical mathematicians.
NB: My original comment led with a pejorative, which was rightly flagged.