Ziay!

revenantgirl82

While I'm certain that an applied mathematician is a scientist, I think the classification of pure mathematics is a little less clear. Is pure mathematics a science? Are mathematicians scientists? If you subscribe to a particular philosophy of mathematics (formalist, constructivist, platonist, etc.), then I'm sure that might affect your view, so be sure to mention that too, if applicable.
I don't dispute the use of mathematics. But I also don't think that it's enough to declare mathematics a science merely because science requires mathematics. Science requires instrumentation, but it would be a little awkward to point at some instrumentation (such as a thermometer) and declaring, "This thermometer is science!". If you're going to argue that way, I need to know what, if anything, makes mathematics different from any other scientific tool.
Mathematics is no more a language than computer Science. Both rely very strongly on denotational semantics to arrive at a precise notation to describe things in a very general way, but in a quantifiable way at the same time. That is a lingual element, yes. If that were the whole of a mathematician's concern, then there wouldn't be any distinguishing a mathematician from a logician. Almost every mathematician I've ever met (including myself) would object very strongly to the accusation that mathematics is devoid of any content but its rules for semantics. In fact, one needs only to read any article in a journal in mathematics to begin to suspect that the subject of mathematics and the formal methods of mathematics might be different. Of course, some philosophers and mathematicians do disagree with what I just said. If you do as well, I need to know WHY.
Beatz, I think you're on to something (as usual). That previous addition wasn't directed at you, but rather the guy above you.

deakosha

You need math to do physics, if you want to do a science job, you have to know math as well. They test you on BOTH subjects.

Dave

Mathematics is typically grouped with the sciences at major universities, so it is a philosophically safe classification.

Professor Beatz

Science is about empericism: and observation and hypothesis. Science is known through the senses. Math is not--it is pure logic. The founding philosophy is completely different. Math uses formal proof and definitions, which is entirely different.

No, math is not a science. Math is actually more a language than anything else: a completely formalized quantitative language with rigorous dynamics. Science is a method more than anything else, and it is a method not used in mathematics.

Edit: to the extent that mathematics is a tool, I'd say that there are two different types of mathematicians. Those in formal mathematics are seeking ways to refine the usage of mathematics as a tool, and to get greater effeciency in applied mathematics by proving formulas, etc. These people are to an extent more like engineers, as they are engineering the tool for optimum efficacy. Applied mathematicians (eg those who do not create new theories in mathematics, but rather use mathematics to solve real problems, where the numbers refer to something real rather than mere abstractions) are more like technicians. The use a complicated and sophisticated tool and apply it to things beyond math itself.

When you look at the history of complex numbers, the term "imaginary" was first applied as a derogatory word. However, further refinement of complex dynamics gave a useful new application of complex numbers, and the idea was incorporated into proper mathematics. No one "observed" imaginary numbers, they just found them useful.

As for the logician, I'd regard that as a subset of mathematicians as a whole. I think that the early language of logic was much more close to verbal language, and the likeness is easier for us to manage. But ultimately, what is math? It is a formalized set of conventions, definitions and dynamics that serve as a tool for conveying meaning from one person to the next by using an abstraction. It is a tool in that it is useful, but it remains entirely incorporeal. So what other word is there for such a thing than "language?" Certainly, it doesn't fit our traditional notions of language, nor does it fit our traditional idea of a tool. But in that it consists of generalities that can be made to apply to particulars in order to convey meaning, it is very much like a language.

kervinchong81

Yes mathematics is considered a sciene discipline as most of the sciences depend on maths to work. The college of mathematics is located in most science faculty as Stephen Hawking and Newton were mathematicians and we consider them scientists. There is also such thing as philosophy of science, that may be a more greyer area combining both philosophy and science under an umbrella discipline.

jthillam

I'm gonna use Wikipedia to back me up here by first describing Science:

Science (from Latin scientia - knowledge) refers to a system of acquiring knowledge – based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism – aimed at finding out the truth.

Let's try math against all of these.

1. Empiricism- Testing and trial are all part of mathmatics, although the tests and trials may not be using physical objects, they could if they wanted to, but it would be highly ineffecient. (imagine trying to address Integrals using apples to represent all your numbers)

2. Experimentation- This is simply the Scientific Method, Define the question/Gather information and resources/Form hypothesis/Perform experiment and collect data/Analyze data/Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypotheses/Publish results

These steps are followed when new mathmatical methods are published.

3. Methodological naturalism- This just means that the you approach the process without the assumption that the cause is supernatural.

What is important to my personal description of Math as a science, is the capacity to discover and to prove discovery through hypothesis and documented proofs.