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2 days agoWe make mathematical definitions to do math. We can define 0! any way we want but we defined it to be equal to 1 because it fits in nicely with the way the factorial function works on other numbers.
Literally the only reason why mathematicians define stuff is because it’s easier to work with definitions than to do everything from elementary tools. What the elementary tools are is also subjective. Mathematics isn’t some objective truth, it’s just human made structures that we can expand and better understand through applying logic in the form of proofs. Sometimes we can even apply them to real world situations!
I don’t think ‘I don’t believe in the axiom of choice’ is an opinion, it’s kind of a weird statement to make because the axiom exists. You can have an opinion on whether mathematicians should use it given the fact that it’s an unprovable statement, but that’s true for all axioms.
Any math that needs the axiom of choice has no real life application so I do think it’s kind of silly that so much research is done on math that uses it. At that point mathematics basically becomes art but it’s art that’s only understood by some mathematicians so its value is debatable in my opinion. <- I suppose that opinion is controversial among mathematicians.