Dear Class, Is mathematics invented or discovered?

That seems to be the questiona question, in fact, thats been debated for centuries. For as long as we know, humans have tried to describe the world that surrounds them. Different people use different mediums to attempt to describe that which is known. We invent to describe what we discover. Humor me, and picture a swan. No human being invented the swan, so it seems reasonable to say the swan was discovered. Yet, what human beings did do was invent different ways to describe a swan. The great composer Tchaikovsky used music to describe the story of a swan, and then dancers of the Bolshoi Theatre used their bodies to portray its graceful movements. Writers use words much more elegant than any I could ever conjure up; and artists use paint and clay and pencil and graphics to give a visual representation of what they know is true. The same goes for mathematicians. We use what we lovenumbers, relations, and equationsto describe what we see. Mathematicians would most likely describe a swan by its height or width or mass or population size. And we think those things are beautiful and cool and artistic. All these properties about the swanthey existedthey were discovered. But man had to invent the means with which to describe these properties. I think thats true about most things: we invent to describe that which we discover. Thats my take on math, too: its one of our ways, one of our inventions, to explain our discoveries. So is math invented or discovered? I guess thats a debate that will continue on for a few more centuries. Keep mathing, Mrs. Peterson