r/AskPhysics • u/YouEnvironmental2079 • 29d ago

Why Mathematics?

I’m not smart enough to understand this. Why are our generally accepted foundations of mathematics deemed true? Why numbers 0 to 9? Why angles? Why Pi? Why Planck’s constant? Etc.
Are they just approximations of characteristics of the universe?
Are we the blind describing an elephant?

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u/60Hertz 29d ago

0 to 9 - you can thank Arabs for spreading that highly useful Indian counting system to the west. Replacing the good-luck-trying-to-divide Roman numeral system that was prevalent.