And the math will set you free

TL;DR

This paper explores the philosophical and scientific relationship between mathematics and the universe, questioning whether mathematics is a fundamental aspect of reality or a human-made tool.

Contribution

It provides a philosophical analysis of the role of mathematics in understanding the universe, discussing various perspectives on its fundamental nature.

Findings

Mathematics is deeply intertwined with physical laws.

The universe may be fundamentally mathematical or just modeled mathematically.

The nature of mathematical truth and its relation to physical reality remains open.

Abstract

Can mathematics help us find our way through all the wonders and mysteries of the universe? When physicists describe the laws governing the physical world, mathematics is always involved. Is this due to the fact that the universe is, at least in part, mathematical? Or rather mathematics is merely a tool used by physicists to model phenomena? Is mathematics just a language to tell the story of our universe, a story which could be told with the same or even more effectiveness using another language? Or quite the opposite, the universe is just a mathematical structure?