Re:The exponential function is a miracle
by Excel_Wizard on Friday September 13, 2019 @08:35AM
(#20961499)
If you explored the problem domain, starting with an understanding of trigonometry and calculus, it will naturally emerge as a result. It was not arbitrarily defined.
Imaginary numbers were not arbitrarily defined either, they precisely describe an actual phenomenon.
At a certain level, it is difficult to distinguish between "the reality we decided is true" for math vs. "the reality that must be true underneath". If you accept empiricism, such that you trust observations we make about the physical world, this problem becomes irrelevant to this discussion.
Imaginary numbers were not arbitrarily defined either, they precisely describe an actual phenomenon.
At a certain level, it is difficult to distinguish between "the reality we decided is true" for math vs. "the reality that must be true underneath". If you accept empiricism, such that you trust observations we make about the physical world, this problem becomes irrelevant to this discussion.