The Music of David Betz

6th May 2010

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Essay #1 - Math and Why it Does Not Exist

  Math and Why it Does Not Exist
A thoroughly researched essay by David Betz

When my curiosity was first aroused to understand more about what math really is I went straight to a dictionary to learn of the basic definition of what math is, once I discovered the true nature of what math was, I knew that the only way to truly save this world was to expose math for what it really is, a blatant lie.

First let us examine the word mathematics. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary describes math as “mathematics” ¹. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines mathematics as “the abstract, deductive science of number, quantity, space, and arrangement studied in its own right.” ² This definition begins to raise some serious questions as to the very nature of mathematics.

 The very first two words of this definition show serious fault in the structure of mathematics. The point of studying math is to learn about different ways to interpret mathematical problems that we may be face with during our life, such as the solving of a variable, or the trigonometry involved in calculating the length of shapes. These calculations are set in stone and are used by people in their every day lives. If these calculations are truly concrete, then why does the definition of mathematics call itself abstract? The Canadian Oxford Dictionary describes abstract as “to do with or existing in thought rather than matter, or in theory rather than practice; not tangible or concrete” ³. We have already determined that mathematics deal with concrete fact and do not make any use of the abstract; therefore, we can remove those words from the definition.

Now we are left with “The deductive science of number quantity, space, and arrangement studied in its own right”. The next falsehood lies in number quantity. Quantity is a physical representation of numbers, for example, there can be five plates on a table, or there can be twenty books in a box; however, there cannot be five five’s. Five is a number; a number is used as an unmaterialistic measurement of something that is material. It is impossible to measure the unmaterialistic with the unmaterialistic; to do so would have the same effect as attempting to divide by 0. Therefore this section of the definition can be taken out.

The definition of mathematics now reads, “The deductive science of space and arrangement studied in it’s own right.” The next downright lie that I shall disprove is space. Space is two things, it is the distance between objects, and it is the name of the area between planets. To disprove the latter of these two is simple, there is already a field of study of Space, and it is known as astronomy. Therefore, one of the two definitions of space is no longer useable. The distance between objects on the ground though is a much more difficult thing to disprove, for this space is measured in numbers, and numbers are the foundation of “math”, so in a sense, one could surmise that since there are numbers involved, there are also “calculations” that can be done. In the real world spaces are given numbers using a tape measure (an apparatus which gives a space or an object a number which is relative to the size of the object) which means that the only measurements which can be done with this space is to add a new space onto it. This new space can take on two different forms, a space attached to the old space, or a space that is on the other side of a wall from the old space. For the former, if two spaces are combined they become one space, something that can be clearly defined with the tape measure. However, if there are two spaces that are separated by a wall, than these two spaces cannot possibly be defined by tape measure together since there is a wall in the way, the only possible way for these two spaces to be measured together is to knock down the wall and make the two spaces become one single space. Therefore we can see that there are no possible ways to use “math” to define a space, which makes that section of the definition obsolete.

The definition of mathematics now reads, “The deductive science of arrangement studied in it’s own right.” Arrangement itself can be linked to two different kinds of arranging, the arrangement of physical objects, or arranging songs. For the first part, the arrangement of physical objects. It is impossible to give a number to something with is unquantifiable; if there is no physical presence then it cannot be given a number. The arrangement of physical objects is not a complex mathematical deduction, but instead a concept which is developed in a persons mind which manifests itself in the physical world by this person altering his surroundings into a predetermined order which has been defined by this person. However, another person might look upon the arrangement of objects that one person has chosen and this other person can either fail to see the arrangement intended or they can see a completely different arrangement altogether. This makes this kind of arrangement a form of abstract, which we have already determined is not linked to math in any way possible. The only other possibility is that math relates to the arrangement of music. To arrange a musical composition is to take a composition and change something about it (ex. Instrumentation, style, temp etc…) and make it into something new while still retaining the properties of the original composition. This is something, which like the first definition of arrangement, is a personal choice that is made in a state of abstract and therefore cannot be defined by use of numbers. Once again math attempts to quantify the unquantifiable. Therefore we can remove this section from the definition.

The definition of mathematics now reads, “The deductive science studied in it’s own right.” While this sentence has become gibberish, there are still two things that make this statement false, deductive and science. Science is a field of study that pertains to three subjects, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. Chemistry uses test tubes and different elements and chemicals to do its research and has nothing to do with math. Biology studies the bodies of plants and animals; all that is needed to do research in this field is a knife (for dissecting) a microscope, and a rock hard stomach. Physics is simply the study of space and time; therefore all that is needed is a big tape measure and a stopwatch. None of these three fields of study use math in any way, therefore math does not relate to the sciences. Finally, to deduce something is to use limited facts to come to a true conclusion, a great example of this is Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Holmes knew no math and was able to deduce who murderers were by simply thinking about facts. Once again this enters into the realm of the abstract, something that math always tries to get into, but as we have seen before you cannot quantify the unquantifiable. Therefore both of these statements are false.

As can now be seen, the definition of mathematics is now “The studied in it’s own right.” This sentence holds no meaning whatsoever and cannot be taken seriously by any learning institution that truly values its own educational priorities. It is my wish that the learned scholar may understand this paper for what it is and hurry to correct any institution that is still trying to teach a lie.

¹ The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Katherine Barber, Toronto, Oxford University Press, 1998

² The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Katherine Barber, Toronto, Oxford University Press, 1998

³ The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Katherine Barber, Toronto, Oxford University Press, 1998