Mumbling, Metaphors, & Mindlocks: The Origins of Mathematics

Abstract

Devlin’s idea of the similarity of mathematics to gossip is explored, and leads into a discussion of Wittgenstein’s ideas on the nature of mathematics. To this debate is added the recent writings in the cognitive sciences about mathematics. Examples, such as our conception of fractions, are used to heighten awareness of the role of communication in mathe-matics, and hence its dependence on language. Emerging from the discussion is the importance of metaphor, and the role it plays in the way we talk about and conceive of mathematics.