Math and Language...

[Kokowam]

How do they work? We'll start off with just languages. English will be used because most, if not all, people can relate to the topic and it's easy to work with.

So, what did I just say in that previous sentence? You comprehended it, did you not? But how do you know? How do we make up words and make sense of them? I'm really curious if anyone could really tell me. Do you guys also think that if we were to make up words for a child from birth, that they'd learn to talk like that? Like an apple is a "blarf" and a tree is a "kyoo." If taught, do you believe that it would work?

Math, however is even more complex. I understand a bit that you could make up words and just reference it to something else, but how the hell does math work? Calvin, from the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip by Bill Watterson, claims to be an atheist and that he should have to do his homework because "math is a religion."

You get a 1. You get a 2. You put them together. You magically get a brand new "number" that goes by the name of "three." By blind "faith," we'll say, we believe this and hold it to be true. How does this work? Now think about complex math. How could you make that up?!?!?!!

Discuss and explain to me, please.

[Sophist]

This is crazy and will lead to nothing.

[Esmeralda]

Actually your first sentence made no sense to me :I

And of course a baby will learn whatever gibberish you teach it, it'll grow up and notice that whatever language is spoken around it is probably the language it should be speaking too but wtp are you going on about with the math stuff? Clever old people came up with clever things just like we invent toothbrushes and floss. Madness.

1 + 2 = 3 anyway

[haloOfTheSun]

Perhaps instead of making a topic like this you should just do a little research on your own. There isn't really much up for debate here unless you want to open up that math debate again. In that case why have another topic on it?

[modern algebra]

Did I hear Math?

[Nightwolf]

Did I hear Math?

no friends, you read it.

badum pshhhhh

[Sabre_of_Pain]

well its very complex but isn't exactly something to be debated "unless you get into the religious BS which I think is full of holes"

lets see for language its like this i don't know exactly how or why the brain evolved or why things evolve at all but slowly over billions of years creatures evolved brains these brains had the capacity to store information and eventually creatures needed to be able to communicate so as the need for this grew they would make sounds with emotions that would be portrayed in those expressions but the brains obviously didn't start how they are now so as this happened the brains of these creatures adapted to have more permanent memories as to what this sound means and what poison mushroom looks like what but a certain species (ours duh) evolved in just the right way that we depended greatly on communication and the speech center of our brain grew as it grew we were able to store more and more information in it and so it got to the point where we had certain sounds for certain things and naturally languages evolved from this and you might notice how children cannot speak when they are born so obviously its not genetic memory and seeing as you use your language every day almost constantly its really burned into your brain (i assume you know how the brain works?) and so it comes  naturally to you as do many things you do alot the more you speak the better you get at it and reading and writing you use that every day as well its really as simple as the more you do it the better and faster you can do it

unless you believe in religion in which case its alot simpler "god created man" and so in other words how can we speak? "a wizard did it"

so seeing as most of that you probably knew already perhaps the discussion you were looking for is why and how do we think i know i find that quite interesting watching yourself think... it really gets you thinking try doing it some time you will wonder how the process goes on as theres no complex equations going on that you can notice easily just for thinking it just sorta comes to you instantly every single thought its hard to describe but you should try it sometime (if you haven't already) i still feel like theres something more to say about it but its just not an easy thing to describe

as for math? well by the time complex math theory was created our brains were already highly evolved and it was a simple task to integrate such a simple concept as 1+1=2 more complex math is really just the same thing done in creative ways or at least i think so but then again thats coming from someone who has got all A+ in math since grade 5