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2 ideas
| 12427 | All of mathematics is properties of the whole numbers [Kronecker] |
| Full Idea: All the results of significant mathematical research must ultimately be expressible in the simple forms of properties of whole numbers. | |
| From: Leopold Kronecker (works [1885], Vol 3/274), quoted by Philip Kitcher - The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge 09.5 | |
| A reaction: I've always liked Kronecker's line, but I'm beginning to realise that his use of the word 'number' is simply out-of-date. Natural numbers have a special status, but not sufficient to support this claim. |
| 10091 | God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man [Kronecker] |
| Full Idea: God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man. | |
| From: Leopold Kronecker (works [1885]), quoted by A.George / D.J.Velleman - Philosophies of Mathematics Intro | |
| A reaction: This famous remark was first quoted in Kronecker's obituary. A response to Dedekind, it seems. See Idea 10090. Did he really mean that negative numbers were the work of God? We took a long time to spot them. |