The unreasonable effectiveness [of mathematics]

Abstract

In 2003, the American mathematician Alex Kasman (2003) wrote a beautiful tale of "mathematical fiction" called "Unreasonable Effectiveness", one of the several responses to Wigner's classic paper “The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences” (WIGNER, 1960). In Kasman's version, a researcher ends up, accidentally, discovering the answer to the question of how a new theory finds, at some point, a practical use in science. That is, how can abstract results, built without any foundation in "real world", become so useful, even in completely diverse areas? This paper proposes a commented translation of this delightful essay, both as unconventional proposal of teaching experience and a reflection on the courses of scientific development, afforded by Mathematics and Physics. As a secondary objective, it aims to increase student's motivation in the search for non trivial solutions to scientific and philosophical problems.

Keywords

• ensino de física e matemática
• filosofia da ciência
• pensamento criativo