Abstract
The vivacity of mathematics results (partly) from the fact that mathematics is stretched between several poles, not being committed to any one. The paper presents the following polarities: realism - idealism, the finite - the infinite, the discrete - the continuous, the approximate - the exact, certitute - probability, simplicity - complexity, unity - multiplicity.
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Duda, R. Mathematics: Essential Tensions. Foundations of Science 2, 11–19 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009654622666
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009654622666