most recent 30 from http://mathoverflow.net 2013-05-24T02:33:41Z http://mathoverflow.net/feeds/user/3917 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://mathoverflow.net/questions/14782/what-are-some-applications-of-other-fields-to-mathematics/14821#14821 mathy 2010-02-09T22:17:10Z 2010-02-09T22:17:10Z

<p>As a contribution to mathematical practice (as opposed to mathematics itself), you might consider the emerging field of <em>mathematical cognition</em> (also known as <em>cognitive science of mathematics</em>), i.e. the study of mathematical ideas and their empirical grounding in human experiences, metaphors, generalizations, analogies and other cognitive mechanisms. </p> <p>This subject has been explored informally and non-rigorously by mathematicians such as Saunders Mac Lane (see his <em>Mathematics, Form and Function</em>), but until recently it was not pursued by researchers trained in cognitive science. The best-known introduction is the book <em>Where Mathematics Comes From</em> by G. Lakoff and R. Nunez, but research has also been undertaken by Brian Rotman (<em>Mathematics as sign: Writing, imagining, counting</em>) and others.</p>