Representation And Productive Ambiguity In Mathematics And The Sciences

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Representation and Productive Ambiguity in Mathematics and the Sciences

Author : Emily R. Grosholz
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199299730
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (992 download)

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Book Synopsis Representation and Productive Ambiguity in Mathematics and the Sciences by : Emily R. Grosholz

Download or read book Representation and Productive Ambiguity in Mathematics and the Sciences written by Emily R. Grosholz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-08-30 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emily Grosholz offers an original investigation of demonstration in mathematics and science, examining how it works and why it is persuasive. Focusing on geometrical demonstration, she shows the roles that representation and ambiguity play in mathematical discovery. She presents a wide range of case studies in mechanics, topology, algebra, logic, and chemistry, from ancient Greece to the present day, but focusing particularly on the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. She argues that reductive methods are effective not because they diminish but because they multiply and juxtapose modes of representation. Such problem-solving is, she argues, best understood in terms of Leibnizian 'analysis' - the search for conditions of intelligibility. Discovery and justification are then two aspects of one rational way of proceeding, which produces the mathematician's formal experience. Grosholz defends the importance of iconic, as well as symbolic and indexical, signs in mathematical representation, and argues that pragmatic, as well as syntactic and semantic, considerations are indispensable for mathematical reasoning. By taking a close look at the way results are presented on the page in mathematical (and biological, chemical, and mechanical) texts, she shows that when two or more traditions combine in the service of problem solving, notations and diagrams are sublty altered, multiplied, and juxtaposed, and surrounded by prose in natural language which explains the novel combination. Viewed this way, the texts yield striking examples of language and notation that are irreducibly ambiguous and productive because they are ambiguous. Grosholtz's arguments, which invoke Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant, will be of considerable interest to philosophers and historians of mathematics and science, and also have far-reaching consequences for epistemology and philosophy of language.

Humanizing Mathematics and its Philosophy

Author : Bharath Sriraman
Publisher : Birkhäuser
ISBN 13 : 331961231X
Total Pages : 357 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (196 download)

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Book Synopsis Humanizing Mathematics and its Philosophy by : Bharath Sriraman

Download or read book Humanizing Mathematics and its Philosophy written by Bharath Sriraman and published by Birkhäuser. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Festschrift contains numerous colorful and eclectic essays from well-known mathematicians, philosophers, logicians, and linguists celebrating the 90th birthday of Reuben Hersh. The essays offer, in part, attempts to answer the following questions set forth by Reuben himself as a focus for this volume: Can practicing mathematicians, as such, contribute anything to the philosophy of math? Can or should philosophers of math, as such, say anything to practicing mathematicians? Twenty or fifty years from now, what will be similar, and what will, or could, or should be altogether different: About the philosophy of math? About math education? About math research institutions? About data processing and scientific computing? The essays also offer glimpses into Reuben’s fertile mind and his lasting influence on the mathematical community, as well as revealing the diverse roots, obstacles and philosophical dispositions that characterize the working lives of mathematicians. With contributions from a veritable “who’s who” list of 20th century luminaries from mathematics and philosophy, as well as from Reuben himself, this volume will appeal to a wide variety of readers from curious undergraduates to prominent mathematicians.

99 Variations on a Proof

Author : Philip Ording
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691218978
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis 99 Variations on a Proof by : Philip Ording

Download or read book 99 Variations on a Proof written by Philip Ording and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of mathematical style through 99 different proofs of the same theorem This book offers a multifaceted perspective on mathematics by demonstrating 99 different proofs of the same theorem. Each chapter solves an otherwise unremarkable equation in distinct historical, formal, and imaginative styles that range from Medieval, Topological, and Doggerel to Chromatic, Electrostatic, and Psychedelic. With a rare blend of humor and scholarly aplomb, Philip Ording weaves these variations into an accessible and wide-ranging narrative on the nature and practice of mathematics. Inspired by the experiments of the Paris-based writing group known as the Oulipo—whose members included Raymond Queneau, Italo Calvino, and Marcel Duchamp—Ording explores new ways to examine the aesthetic possibilities of mathematical activity. 99 Variations on a Proof is a mathematical take on Queneau’s Exercises in Style, a collection of 99 retellings of the same story, and it draws unexpected connections to everything from mysticism and technology to architecture and sign language. Through diagrams, found material, and other imagery, Ording illustrates the flexibility and creative potential of mathematics despite its reputation for precision and rigor. Readers will gain not only a bird’s-eye view of the discipline and its major branches but also new insights into its historical, philosophical, and cultural nuances. Readers, no matter their level of expertise, will discover in these proofs and accompanying commentary surprising new aspects of the mathematical landscape.

Starry Reckoning: Reference and Analysis in Mathematics and Cosmology

Author : Emily Rolfe Grosholz
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319466909
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis Starry Reckoning: Reference and Analysis in Mathematics and Cosmology by : Emily Rolfe Grosholz

Download or read book Starry Reckoning: Reference and Analysis in Mathematics and Cosmology written by Emily Rolfe Grosholz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-25 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with a topic that has been largely neglected by philosophers of science to date: the ability to refer and analyze in tandem. On the basis of a set of philosophical case studies involving both problems in number theory and issues concerning time and cosmology from the era of Galileo, Newton and Leibniz up through the present day, the author argues that scientific knowledge is a combination of accurate reference and analytical interpretation. In order to think well, we must be able to refer successfully, so that we can show publicly and clearly what we are talking about. And we must be able to analyze well, that is, to discover productive and explanatory conditions of intelligibility for the things we are thinking about. The book’s central claim is that the kinds of representations that make successful reference possible and those that make successful analysis possible are not the same, so that significant scientific and mathematical work typically proceeds by means of a heterogeneous discourse that juxtaposes and often superimposes a variety of kinds of representation, including formal and natural languages as well as more iconic modes. It demonstrates the virtues and necessity of heterogeneity in historically central reasoning, thus filling an important gap in the literature and fostering a new, timely discussion on the epistemology of science and mathematics.

Fuzzy Pictures as Philosophical Problem and Scientific Practice

Author : Jordi Cat
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319471902
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis Fuzzy Pictures as Philosophical Problem and Scientific Practice by : Jordi Cat

Download or read book Fuzzy Pictures as Philosophical Problem and Scientific Practice written by Jordi Cat and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a comprehensive discussion on the characterization of vagueness in pictures. It reports on how the problem of representation of images has been approached in scientific practice, highlighting the role of mathematical methods and the philosophical background relevant for issues such as representation, categorization and reasoning. Without delving too much into the technical details, the book examines and defends different kinds of values of fuzziness based on a complex approach to categorization as a practice, adopting conceptual and empirical suggestions from different fields including the arts. It subsequently advances criticisms and provides suggestions for interpretation and application. By describing a cognitive framework based on fuzzy, rough and near sets, and discussing all of the relevant mathematical and philosophical theories for the representation and processing of vagueness in images, the book offers a practice-oriented guide to fuzzy visual reasoning, along with novel insights into the field of interpreting and thinking with fuzzy pictures and fuzzy data.

Models and Inferences in Science

Author : Emiliano Ippoliti
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319281631
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (192 download)

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Book Synopsis Models and Inferences in Science by : Emiliano Ippoliti

Download or read book Models and Inferences in Science written by Emiliano Ippoliti and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-01-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book answers long-standing questions on scientific modeling and inference across multiple perspectives and disciplines, including logic, mathematics, physics and medicine. The different chapters cover a variety of issues, such as the role models play in scientific practice; the way science shapes our concept of models; ways of modeling the pursuit of scientific knowledge; the relationship between our concept of models and our concept of science. The book also discusses models and scientific explanations; models in the semantic view of theories; the applicability of mathematical models to the real world and their effectiveness; the links between models and inferences; and models as a means for acquiring new knowledge. It analyzes different examples of models in physics, biology, mathematics and engineering. Written for researchers and graduate students, it provides a cross-disciplinary reference guide to the notion and the use of models and inferences in science.

Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice

Author : Bharath Sriraman
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031408462
Total Pages : 3221 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (314 download)

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Book Synopsis Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice by : Bharath Sriraman

Download or read book Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice written by Bharath Sriraman and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 3221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Great Circles

Author : Emily Rolfe Grosholz
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319982311
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (199 download)

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Book Synopsis Great Circles by : Emily Rolfe Grosholz

Download or read book Great Circles written by Emily Rolfe Grosholz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the interaction of poetry and mathematics by looking at analogies that link them. The form that distinguishes poetry from prose has mathematical structure (lifting language above the flow of time), as do the thoughtful ways in which poets bring the infinite into relation with the finite. The history of mathematics exhibits a dramatic narrative inspired by a kind of troping, as metaphor opens, metonymy and synecdoche elaborate, and irony closes off or shifts the growth of mathematical knowledge. The first part of the book is autobiographical, following the author through her discovery of these analogies, revealed by music, architecture, science fiction, philosophy, and the study of mathematics and poetry. The second part focuses on geometry, the circle and square, launching us from Shakespeare to Housman, from Euclid to Leibniz. The third part explores the study of dynamics, inertial motion and transcendental functions, from Descartes to Newton, and in 20th c. poetry. The final part contemplates infinity, as it emerges in modern set theory and topology, and in contemporary poems, including narrative poems about modern cosmology.

Deep Thinking: What Mathematics Can Teach Us About The Mind

Author : William Byers
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9814618055
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (146 download)

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Book Synopsis Deep Thinking: What Mathematics Can Teach Us About The Mind by : William Byers

Download or read book Deep Thinking: What Mathematics Can Teach Us About The Mind written by William Byers and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2014-09-22 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is more than one way to think. Most people are familiar with the systematic, rule-based thinking that one finds in a mathematical proof or a computer program. But such thinking does not produce breakthroughs in mathematics and science nor is it the kind of thinking that results in significant learning. Deep thinking is a different and more basic way of using the mind. It results in the discontinuous “aha!” experience, which is the essence of creativity. It is at the heart of every paradigm shift or reframing of a problematic situation.The identification of deep thinking as the default state of the mind has the potential to reframe our current approach to technological change, education, and the nature of mathematics and science. For example, there is an unbridgeable gap between deep thinking and computer simulations of thinking. Many people suspect that such a gap exists, but find it difficult to make this intuition precise. This book identifies the way in which the authentic intelligence of deep thinking differs from the artificial intelligence of “big data” and “analytics”.Deep thinking is the essential ingredient in every significant learning experience, which leads to a new way to think about education. It is also essential to the construction of conceptual systems that are at the heart of mathematics and science, and of the technologies that shape the modern world. Deep thinking can be found whenever one conceptual system morphs into another.The sources of this study include the cognitive development of numbers in children, neuropsychology, the study of creativity, and the historical development of mathematics and science. The approach is unusual and original. It comes out of the author's lengthy experience as a mathematician, teacher, and writer of books about mathematics and science, such as How Mathematicians Think: Using Ambiguity, Contradiction, and Paradox to Create Mathematics and The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty.

Visual Reasoning with Diagrams

Author : Amirouche Moktefi
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3034806000
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis Visual Reasoning with Diagrams by : Amirouche Moktefi

Download or read book Visual Reasoning with Diagrams written by Amirouche Moktefi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-07-08 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Logic, the discipline that explores valid reasoning, does not need to be limited to a specific form of representation but should include any form as long as it allows us to draw sound conclusions from given information. The use of diagrams has a long but unequal history in logic: The golden age of diagrammatic logic of the 19th century thanks to Euler and Venn diagrams was followed by the early 20th century's symbolization of modern logic by Frege and Russell. Recently, we have been witnessing a revival of interest in diagrams from various disciplines - mathematics, logic, philosophy, cognitive science, and computer science. This book aims to provide a space for this newly debated topic - the logical status of diagrams - in order to advance the goal of universal logic by exploring common and/or unique features of visual reasoning.

Enlightening Symbols

Author : Joseph Mazur
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691173370
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Enlightening Symbols by : Joseph Mazur

Download or read book Enlightening Symbols written by Joseph Mazur and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-06 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An entertaining look at the origins of mathematical symbols While all of us regularly use basic math symbols such as those for plus, minus, and equals, few of us know that many of these symbols weren't available before the sixteenth century. What did mathematicians rely on for their work before then? And how did mathematical notations evolve into what we know today? In Enlightening Symbols, popular math writer Joseph Mazur explains the fascinating history behind the development of our mathematical notation system. He shows how symbols were used initially, how one symbol replaced another over time, and how written math was conveyed before and after symbols became widely adopted. Traversing mathematical history and the foundations of numerals in different cultures, Mazur looks at how historians have disagreed over the origins of the numerical system for the past two centuries. He follows the transfigurations of algebra from a rhetorical style to a symbolic one, demonstrating that most algebra before the sixteenth century was written in prose or in verse employing the written names of numerals. Mazur also investigates the subconscious and psychological effects that mathematical symbols have had on mathematical thought, moods, meaning, communication, and comprehension. He considers how these symbols influence us (through similarity, association, identity, resemblance, and repeated imagery), how they lead to new ideas by subconscious associations, how they make connections between experience and the unknown, and how they contribute to the communication of basic mathematics. From words to abbreviations to symbols, this book shows how math evolved to the familiar forms we use today.

Pluralism in Mathematics: A New Position in Philosophy of Mathematics

Author : Michèle Friend
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400770588
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Pluralism in Mathematics: A New Position in Philosophy of Mathematics by : Michèle Friend

Download or read book Pluralism in Mathematics: A New Position in Philosophy of Mathematics written by Michèle Friend and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-20 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about philosophy, mathematics and logic, giving a philosophical account of Pluralism which is a family of positions in the philosophy of mathematics. There are four parts to this book, beginning with a look at motivations for Pluralism by way of Realism, Maddy’s Naturalism, Shapiro’s Structuralism and Formalism. In the second part of this book the author covers: the philosophical presentation of Pluralism; using a formal theory of logic metaphorically; rigour and proof for the Pluralist; and mathematical fixtures. In the third part the author goes on to focus on the transcendental presentation of Pluralism, and in part four looks at applications of Pluralism, such as a Pluralist approach to proof in mathematics and how Pluralism works in regard to together-inconsistent philosophies of mathematics. The book finishes with suggestions for further Pluralist enquiry. In this work the author takes a deeply radical approach in developing a new position that will either convert readers, or act as a strong warning to treat the word ‘pluralism’ with care.

Model-Based Reasoning in Science and Technology

Author : Lorenzo Magnani
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319389831
Total Pages : 674 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (193 download)

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Book Synopsis Model-Based Reasoning in Science and Technology by : Lorenzo Magnani

Download or read book Model-Based Reasoning in Science and Technology written by Lorenzo Magnani and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-01 with total page 674 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses how scientific and other types of cognition make use of models, abduction, and explanatory reasoning in order to produce important or creative changes in theories and concepts. It includes revised contributions presented during the international conference on Model-Based Reasoning (MBR’015), held on June 25-27 in Sestri Levante, Italy. The book is divided into three main parts, the first of which focuses on models, reasoning and representation. It highlights key theoretical concepts from an applied perspective, addressing issues concerning information visualization, experimental methods and design. The second part goes a step further, examining abduction, problem solving and reasoning. The respective contributions analyze different types of reasoning, discussing various concepts of inference and creativity and their relationship with experimental data. In turn, the third part reports on a number of historical, epistemological and technological issues. By analyzing possible contradictions in modern research and describing representative case studies in experimental research, this part aims at fostering new discussions and stimulating new ideas. All in all, the book provides researchers and graduate students in the field of applied philosophy, epistemology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence alike with an authoritative snapshot of current theories and applications of model-based reasoning.

Science after the Practice Turn in the Philosophy, History, and Social Studies of Science

Author : Léna Soler
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317935357
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (179 download)

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Book Synopsis Science after the Practice Turn in the Philosophy, History, and Social Studies of Science by : Léna Soler

Download or read book Science after the Practice Turn in the Philosophy, History, and Social Studies of Science written by Léna Soler and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1980s, philosophical, historical and social studies of science underwent a change which later evolved into a turn to practice. Analysts of science were asked to pay attention to scientific practices in meticulous detail and along multiple dimensions, including the material, social and psychological. Following this turn, the interest in scientific practices continued to increase and had an indelible influence in the various fields of science studies. No doubt, the practice turn changed our conceptions and approaches of science, but what did it really teach us? What does it mean to study scientific practices? What are the general lessons, implications, and new challenges? This volume explores questions about the practice turn using both case studies and theoretical analysis. The case studies examine empirical and mathematical sciences, including the engineering sciences. The volume promotes interactions between acknowledged experts from different, often thought of as conflicting, orientations. It presents contributions in conjunction with critical commentaries that put the theses and assumptions of the former in perspective. Overall, the book offers a unique and diverse range of perspectives on the meanings, methods, lessons, and challenges associated with the practice turn.

The Essential Guide to Secondary Mathematics

Author : Colin Foster
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0415527708
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (155 download)

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Book Synopsis The Essential Guide to Secondary Mathematics by : Colin Foster

Download or read book The Essential Guide to Secondary Mathematics written by Colin Foster and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining research-based theory with fresh, practical guidance for the classroom, this is a stimulating resource for all student and practising teachers looking for new ideas and inspiration.

Mathematics without Apologies

Author : Michael Harris
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691175837
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Mathematics without Apologies by : Michael Harris

Download or read book Mathematics without Apologies written by Michael Harris and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-30 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful reflection on the mathematical soul What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources. Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party? Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.

Making and Breaking Mathematical Sense

Author : Roi Wagner
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691171718
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Making and Breaking Mathematical Sense by : Roi Wagner

Download or read book Making and Breaking Mathematical Sense written by Roi Wagner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In line with the emerging field of philosophy of mathematical practice, this book pushes the philosophy of mathematics away from questions about the reality and truth of mathematical entities and statements and toward a focus on what mathematicians actually do—and how that evolves and changes over time. How do new mathematical entities come to be? What internal, natural, cognitive, and social constraints shape mathematical cultures? How do mathematical signs form and reform their meanings? How can we model the cognitive processes at play in mathematical evolution? And how does mathematics tie together ideas, reality, and applications? Roi Wagner uniquely combines philosophical, historical, and cognitive studies to paint a fully rounded image of mathematics not as an absolute ideal but as a human endeavor that takes shape in specific social and institutional contexts. The book builds on ancient, medieval, and modern case studies to confront philosophical reconstructions and cutting-edge cognitive theories. It focuses on the contingent semiotic and interpretive dimensions of mathematical practice, rather than on mathematics' claim to universal or fundamental truths, in order to explore not only what mathematics is, but also what it could be. Along the way, Wagner challenges conventional views that mathematical signs represent fixed, ideal entities; that mathematical cognition is a rigid transfer of inferences between formal domains; and that mathematics’ exceptional consensus is due to the subject’s underlying reality. The result is a revisionist account of mathematical philosophy that will interest mathematicians, philosophers, and historians of science alike.