But it took 2,500 years and the invention of calculus andNewtonian physicsto explain the patterns.
So could we imagine a universe in which mathematics does not work?
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One can describe an electron, but the moment we start asking questions like What colour is it?
we start to realize the inadequacies of English.
The question itself is meaningless.
But ask How does an electron behave?
and the answer is, in principle, simple.
This does not mean it is simple when we look at the details.
For example, an electron behaves as a tiny magnet.
The magnitude can be calculated, but thecalculation is horrendously complicated.
A Tesla on autopilot will actually solve them explicitly.
But just because something can be described mathematically does not mean it can be predicted.
One of the more remarkable discoveries of the last 50 years has been the discovery of chaotic systems.
These can be apparently simple mathematical systems that cannot be solved precisely.
It turns out that many systems are chaotic in this sense.
Similarly, quantum mechanics provides a theory where we know precisely what predictions cannot be made precisely.
Hurricanes are obviously intermittent events, and we cannot predict when one will happen in advance.
So how about personal relationships?
Love may be blind, but relationships are certainly predictable.
But it is also true in the local sense.
A universe that could not be described mathematically would need to be fundamentally irrational and not merely unpredictable.
Just because a theory is implausible does not mean we could not describe it mathematically.
