Alternate titles: math. Written by. Jeremy John Gray. Emeritus Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Open University. Author of Plato's Ghost; ...
mathematics, the science of structure, order, and relation that has evolved from elemental practices of counting, measuring, and describing the shapes of objects. It deals with logical reasoning and quantitative calculation, and its development has involved an increasing degree of idealization and abstraction of its subject matter. Since the 17th century, mathematics has been an indispensable adjunct