Q: Which is better: Math or Physics?

Physicist: Physics.

Mathematician: Math, of course. Can physics do this?

1 = \sum_{k=0}^{\infty} \frac{(2 \pi)^{2 k}}{(2 k)!} (-1)^{k}

Physicist: Lasers, dude.

Mathematician: Lasers, shmasers.

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65 Responses to Q: Which is better: Math or Physics?

  1. Well Mathematics in itself is beautiful but without physics it’s useless, remember Kaluza Klein theory, is mathematically correct but incorrect at Physics level as it doesn’t match data. It’s like you can do a lot of things in maths but not all of them is right. In Physics everything we do have a reason behind it. Physics exist even without mathematics, it’s just that we won’t we a letter to calculations but there is Physics. Physics is about ideas, how universe works and why it is the way it is, to make some predictions and do calculations we need maths, every physical theory has interpretation about what it is except quantum mechanics. But mathematics is not about interpretation it about calculations. You can derive and prove alot of things using physics but won’t be able to find application for every theory.
    Physics is therefore applied mathematics, mathematics which can be translated into how universe works

  2. Omar says:

    Mathematics indeed, in general, mathematicians can work in physics easily, but I have not seen a physicist who worked in pure mathematics and contributed to it. Physics is the study of how this universe work, it can change sometimes though. However, mathematics is the language in which any universe should speak, if we have other universes, or the multiverse theory is correct, we are pretty sure that the universal constants will change, and hence the physics will change. However, the maths will never change. This is the main difference between mathematics and physics, in mathematics we do not care about the specific things, we want to find a theorem that works for everything with no exceptions, unlike physics which has a lot of exceptions. Mathematics is there with or without physics, we see mathematics applied to every field, including art and finance. Usually physicists use maths, but mathematicians are not in need of physics most of the time, this explains it all!

  3. Narinder says:

    Brother if they move thier hand then they use physics if they think something thier mind transmitter electrical signal that is also physics because in atoms nuclaer force over come electromagnetic force that’s why atom of thier body exist they able to do mathematics they don’t use physics they are physics

  4. Pranav says:

    Actually, phyics is nothing without mathematics without using math any theory in physics cannot be proved. For a moment if you think that there is no branch like maths then physics would be nothing more than philosophy. Even theory of relativity is purely mathematical theory. I am not insulting physics even physics my one of the favourite subject but the fact….

  5. john says:

    If you said that ” I have not seen a physicist who worked in pure mathematics and contributed to it. ”
    then you must forget where mathe come from.

    Calculus was invented by Newton.

    Who is Newton ? A physicist , a mathematician,
    he invented calculus to solve mechanics problem.
    All famous mathematicians are physicist in early time.
    Lagrange, Hamilton, Euler, Gauss, Poisson, Laplace, Bernoulli and so on , all them are physicist. they are mathematician too, the method they are invented aim to solve physics problem .
    Lagrange mechanics, Hamilton Mechanics,you must learned these if you learned mechanics.
    Lagrange multiplier which used to solve constraint problem, variational funtional , optimizer …….. those mathematical tools today are very popular in physics, engineering can trace back to those well-known scientist .

  6. arif shaik says:

    “we for our purpose divided the science into some subjects to avoid confusion to our little brain but remember that nature doesn’t know it!”
    – r.p feynman
    mathematics and physics are not different but are same indeed. if someone ask you that which of these subjects are important then shut his mouth by saying that all are same. Physicists are manufacturers who manufacture science and mathematicians are manufacturers of some tools by which we can manufacture science. both are creative and innovative. i don’t know about the mathematicians but physicist do love mathematics as they love physics.

  7. mn says:

    well i will its does not matter which one is better… ask yourself what you like……
    and there is no restiction of studing two subjects…

  8. Balaji says:

    one can frame a mathematical equation or formulas which is not based on the principles of physics.Then, that equation becomes a task to be solved by a mathematician.He will think how to solve that equation and here one can see that physics is not required to solve an equation.It does not mean that physics is not useful to solve that equation or formulas.The equations represented in physics are based on the physics’s principles and they are called as ” Equation of Physics ” which works only based on the physics principle but even then it becomes a ordinary equation.Anyways, solving any equation requires mathematical skill to do it.One point to note is that all equations are mathematical in nature, but it becomes equation of physics when it works according to laws of physics.

  9. NARENDRA KUMAR says:

    dear john
    I think you are not aware of the facts the few of the greatest minds of the world are initially mathematicians – EINSTINE, STEFEN HAWKINGS, NEWTON ,BERNOLIE and many more and more to come .

  10. Anonymous says:

    yeaass…physics and maths and basically the whole science is an important and undivisable subject…For the results of the investigation of physics, maths have born…and without mathematical calculation ,physics is nothing…so maths and physics are the 2 different names of a same person😍

  11. Anonymous says:

    Obviously, Math is best…..

  12. Anonymous says:

    The reality of mathematics is in physics.
    The truth of physics is in mathematics.

  13. Abdullah Amir says:

    “Calculus was invented by Newton.

    Who is Newton ? A physicist , a mathematician,
    he invented calculus to solve mechanics problem.
    All famous mathematicians are physicist in early time.
    Lagrange, Hamilton, Euler, Gauss, Poisson, Laplace, Bernoulli and so on , all them are physicist. they are mathematician too, the method they are invented aim to solve physics problem .”

    Well, just because new math was invented/discovered to explain physics, doesn’t mean it has to be that way always. Archimedes came very close to inventing/discovering calculus even though he was not interested in applications of maths and had a pure approach. Also, mathematicians developed maths to explain physical concepts. There has rarely been any physicist who has done that by himself. The level of understanding required is only found in a mathematician, or in case of physics, in an applied mathematician.

  14. Binod Kumar says:

    Mathematics does not say about what it deals in. Also it does not clearify why it be done and does not say what is true or false.
    Actually mathematics seeks the patterns and general statement.
    The aim of mathematics is to define and defend itself.
    But aim of physics is to discover the law of natural phenomenon and mystery of universe.

  15. Anonymous says:

    How the hell you said without physic math is nothing.. Math Symbol Division ➗ add➕ times × () = also use in physic to solve the problem or to know how everything work

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