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Is there an exact definition of mathematics ?
...if yes, then what is it ?
...if no then why not ?

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Wikipedia does a good job: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics by and large questions that have immediate answers on Wikipedia are discouraged. – Ryan Budney Apr 24 '11 at 1:22
I actually went through that wikipedia page before asking this question. Thats a good description; but I am looking for a formal definition of mathematics. – explorest Apr 24 '11 at 1:34
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Define formal. – lhf Apr 24 '11 at 1:37
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I have voted to close because I think that (1) this is not a question that is amenable to answering - there is no "correct" answer, just opinion; and (2) a good summary of the opinions can be found elsewhere. However, I would support a question that asked for references about the subject. – Carl Mummert Apr 24 '11 at 1:42
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lhf's comment gets to the heart of why you're not getting a great response. "formal" is very much a mathematical word, so you're kind of asking for circular reasoning. – Ryan Budney Apr 24 '11 at 1:51
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closed as not constructive by Eric, Ryan Budney, yunone, Carl Mummert, lhf Apr 24 '11 at 1:55

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