Review Of NOVA Program The Great Math Mystery
| Article | |
|---|---|
| Title | Review Of NOVA Program The Great Math Mystery |
| Author(s) | Harry Hamlin Ricker |
| Published in | Beyond Mainstream |
| Date | 2019-05-03 |
| Subject area | Physics |
| Topics | mathematics, philosophy of science |
Read online | Read the full article |
Archived copy | Archived version |
| Retrieved | 2026-07-23 |
"Review Of NOVA Program The Great Math Mystery" is a review by Harry Hamlin Ricker published on 3 May 2019 on Beyond Mainstream.
The PBS programme asks whether mathematics is a human invention or the discovered language of the universe. Ricker holds that there is no real question — mathematics is plainly a human invention — and asks instead why the question is being posed at all. His answer is that the establishment is promoting the idea that the universe consists of mathematics, a position he traces to the cult of Pythagoras and regards as elevating mathematics, and those who control it, to the status of a deity.