The Neglected Relation

Abstract

Mathematics, like musical composition and other fine arts, is purely a human creation. Without us, does it exist? This sort of "meta" question has long interested scholars with multidisciplinary interests (readers are referred to the references section at the end for a few of the numerous references to ideas of this sort that have appeared in the literature over centuries). Indeed, does the societal culture in which the predominant mathematics is developed and embedded in a particular historical epoch influence the kind of mathematics that is developed? Again, this question has been studied in many ways: we consider one case here--that of the mathematical relation and selected real-world interpretations. These are displayed in a number of visual formats not merely as curiosities but more significantly for the suggestion they might offer as to why or why not certain types of formal structures get created. It is important to attempt to understand deeper processes such as these: the mathematics we use in the real-world often influences the decisions we make.