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Mathematics

Why science relies too much on mathematics

Mathematics is at the heart of modern science but we shouldn’t forget other ways to reason, says author and researcher Roland Ennos

By Roland Ennos

24 February 2024

Person writing math equations on glass

Shutterstock / Aree_S

The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up for Lost in Space-Time for free here.

“Science is written in the language of mathematics,” proclaimed Galileo in 1623. And over the past few centuries science has become ever more mathematical. Nowadays, mathematics seems to hold total hegemony, particularly in the fields of quantum physics and relativity – the teaching of modern physics seems to involve deriving an…

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