Abstraction (mathematics)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abstraction in mathematics is the process of extracting the underlying essence of a mathematical concept,
removing any dependence on real world objects with which it might originally have been connected, and
generalizing it so that it has wider applications or matching among other abstract descriptions of equivalent
phenomena.
[1][2][3]
Two of the most highly abstract areas of modern mathematics are category theory and model
theory.
Contents
1 Description
2 See also
3 References
4 Further reading
Description
Many areas of mathematics began with the study of real world problems, before the underlying rules and concepts
were identified and defined as abstract structures. For example, geometry has its origins in the calculation of
distances and areas in the real world; algebra started with methods of solving problems in arithmetic.
Abstraction is an ongoing process in mathematics and the historical development of many mathematical topics
exhibits a progression from the concrete to the abstract. Take the historical development of geometry as an
example; the first steps in the abstraction of geometry were made by the ancient Greeks, with Euclid's Elements
being the earliest extant documentation of the axioms of plane geometrythough Proclus tells of an earlier
axiomatisation by Hippocrates of Chios.
[4]
In the 17th century Descartes introduced Cartesian co-ordinates which
allowed the development of analytic geometry. Further steps in abstraction were taken by Lobachevsky, Bolyai,
Riemann, and Gauss who generalised the concepts of geometry to develop non-Euclidean geometries. Later in the
19th century mathematicians generalised geometry even further, developing such areas as geometry in n dimensions,
projective geometry, affine geometry and finite geometry. Finally Felix Klein's "Erlangen program" identified the
underlying theme of all of these geometries, defining each of them as the study of properties invariant under a given
group of symmetries. This level of abstraction revealed connections between geometry and abstract algebra.
The advantages of abstraction are :
It reveals deep connections between different areas of mathematics.
Known results in one area can suggest conjectures in a related area.
Techniques and methods from one area can be applied to prove results in a related area.
One disadvantage of abstraction is that highly abstract concepts can be difficult to learn.
[5]
A degree of
mathematical maturity and experience may be needed for conceptual assimilation of abstractions. One of the
underlying principles of the Montessori approach to mathematics education is encouraging children to move from
concrete examples to abstract thinking.
[6]
Bertrand Russell, in The Scientific Outlook (1931), writes that "Ordinary language is totally unsuited for expressing
what physics really asserts, since the words of everyday life are not sufficiently abstract. Only mathematics and
mathematical logic can say as little as the physicist means to say."
See also
Abstract detail
Generalization
Abstract thinking
Abstract logic
Abstract algebraic logic
Abstract model theory
Abstract nonsense
References
1. ^ Bertrand Russell, in The Principles of Mathematics Volume 1 (pg 219), refers to "the principle of abstraction".
2. ^ Robert B. Ash. A Primer of Abstract Mathematics. Cambridge University Press, Jan 1, 1998
3. ^ The New American Encyclopedic Dictionary. Edited by Edward Thomas Roe, Le Roy Hooker, Thomas W.
Handford. Pg 34 (http://books.google.com/books?id=KhQLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA34)
4. ^ Proclus' Summary (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Extras/Proclus_history_geometry.html)
5. ^ "... introducing pupils to abstract mathematics is not an easy task and requires a long-term effort that must take
into account the variety of the contexts in which mathematics is used", P.L. Ferrari, Abstraction in Mathematics,
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 29 July 2003 vol. 358 no. 1435 1225-1230
6. ^ Montessori Philosophy: Moving from Concrete to Abstract
(http://montessoritraining.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/montessori-philosophy-moving-from.html), North American
Montessori Center
Further reading
Bajnok, Bla (2013). An Invitation to Abstract Mathematics. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-6635-2.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abstraction_(mathematics)&oldid=583880281"
Categories: Mathematical terminology Abstraction
This page was last modified on 30 November 2013 at 06:58.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark
of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.