To think ‘in math’ is probably the ultimate in abstract thinking, but the foundation of math is anything but abstract. Basically, the foundation of essential math lies in what we call division. Division is just another way of separating one object from another, or grouping similar objects together and separating them from dissimilar objects. And if you can do that, you can do many other operations like separating multiple groups of similar objects from others. In this sense math is highly practical and mundane. We use math in nearly every aspect of human life without even realizing it.

In my humble opinion, math is an intellectual reflection or ‘grasp’ of the cosmos around us. To me, there are many types of languages, and math is one of them. And math goes far beyond the slicing of the pie description above. Photons can be viewed as either particles or as waves and likewise math can describe either of these two conditions.

It is when math goes beyond particles that it truly becomes beautiful, but also for the majority of us to understand at all. Indeed, there are many mathematicians who can see the exquisite beauty of a perfectly harmonious mathematical function but at the same time have no idea how it applies to real things in our universe. And that’s also the fun part for two reasons. The first, which has so many quantum physicists excited these days, is that any function must surely be describing something in the universe and if that is unknown, it remains to be discovered. From that case, whole theories can be built around the evidence of the math alone. Secondly is the converse. Einstein admitted he was not much of a mathematician, but he was an extraordinarily keen observer. He needed math to explain his observations though, so while we get to the material phenomena of the conversion of mass to energy through math, Einstein went the opposite route.