...is about mathamatics. Is 'math' a language or is it a type of philosophy?

Just as book, perhaps a cookbook, uses language and numbers it is not about language and numbers - but about food so too mathematics uses numbers but it is not about numbers, but about ideas - .

Or is this aallll wrong? /dAb

Mathematics is a language that God gives us to help us describe and understand better the natural world.

Interesting definition, m'amie. So if God gives us Math, then Newton, Whitehead, and Russell are His PROPHETS? :)

/dAb

If music is a language then so is math. Both are universally understood without the need of translation.

To say math or music is a 'Language' is a metaphor of course. And commonly used.

One can also be poetic and say that language is 'music.' It has rhythm, pitch, repeats, different tone colors, each of us is an 'instrument' etc.

Math is not understood by some of us no matter what language it is in. Most of it is Greek to me. And if it is a language than many of us are mathematically 'deaf and dumb.' We're mathematically illiterate!

Oh I agree with that. I see math as an alien language. Something not of this world. Er, not of MY world. LOL I've known of my math illiteracy since day one. I frustrated my high school algebra teacher so badly I'm sure she took to drinking.

Mathematics is a language that persons need not articulate in order to understand and apply.

Another way to look at it is - mathematical 'language' is a 'shorthand' for notating mathematical ideas.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

the equation is much more concise than drawing 3 squares on graph paper.

Just as "a, b, c...." are the building blocks for words that are used to represent non-mathematically based (and some mathematically based) ideas. Yep.

But language is not math. We use language to talk [i]about[/b] math. The alphabet is not language, and musical notation - notes on a white page - is not music. Neither are numbers and equations mathematics - we use numbers and other symbols to talk about math. These numbers and symbols are part of our language. Math itself is in the ethereal realms where it exists before we invent terms to express it even. So math must be philosophy.

Or am I all wet? :) I've already confessed to being mathematically challanged - so don't be surprised at my weird surmises.

/dAb

By your own logic then, mathematics cannot be a philosophy either.

Here's an interesting site on the question of whether or not mathematics is a language (also a link to the "philosophy of mathematics": Language of Mathematics.

Nevertheless, I think we can define mathematics in a number of different ways and can describe it in a number of different ways. No matter the case, however, mathematics is given to us by God. And by God, it sure is useful!