Mathematics Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==== Social sciences ==== {{Further|Mathematical economics|Historical dynamics}} Areas of mathematics used in the social sciences include probability/statistics and differential equations. These are used in linguistics, [[economics]], [[sociology]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Edling |first=Christofer R. |date=2002 |title=Mathematics in Sociology |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.140942 |journal=Annual Review of Sociology |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=197–220 |doi=10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.140942 |issn=0360-0572}}</ref> and [[psychology]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Batchelder |first=William H. |title=Mathematical Psychology: History |date=2015-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008097086843059X |encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) |pages=808–815 |editor-last=Wright |editor-first=James D. |access-date=2023-09-30 |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-097087-5}}</ref> [[File:Supply-demand-equilibrium.svg|thumb|[[Supply and demand|Supply and demand curves]], like this one, are a staple of mathematical economics.]] The fundamental postulate of mathematical economics is that of the rational individual actor – ''[[Homo economicus]]'' ({{Literal translation|economic man}}).<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Zak |first=Paul J. |url={{GBurl|id=6QrvmNo2qD4C|p=158}} |title=Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy |date=2010 |page=158 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3736-6 |language=en |access-date=January 3, 2023 }}</ref> In this model, the individual seeks to maximize their [[rational choice theory|self-interest]],<ref name=":3" /> and always makes optimal choices using [[perfect information]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Oliver W. |date=May 29, 2014 |title=Meet Homo Economicus |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/column/homo-economicus/article/2014/9/19/Harvard-homo-economicus-fiction/ |access-date=December 29, 2022 |website=The Harvard Crimson |archive-date=December 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229204106/https://www.thecrimson.com/column/homo-economicus/article/2014/9/19/Harvard-homo-economicus-fiction/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=this is an opinion essay, not a scholarly work|date=December 2022}} This atomistic view of economics allows it to relatively easily mathematize its thinking, because individual [[calculations]] are transposed into mathematical calculations. Such mathematical modeling allows one to probe economic mechanisms which would be difficult to discover by a "literary" analysis.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} For example, explanations of [[economic cycles]] are not trivial. Without mathematical modeling, it is hard to go beyond statistical observations or unproven speculation.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} However, many people have rejected or criticized the concept of ''Homo economicus''.<ref name=":4" />{{Better source needed|reason=this is an opinion essay, not a scholarly work|date=December 2022}} Economists note that real people have limited information, make poor choices and care about fairness, altruism, not just personal gain.<ref name=":4" />{{Better source needed|reason=this is an opinion essay, not a scholarly work|date=December 2022}} At the start of the 20th century, there was a development to express historical movements in formulas. In 1922, [[Nikolai Kondratiev]] discerned the ~50-year-long [[Kondratiev cycle]], which explains phases of economic growth or crisis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kondratiev, Nikolai Dmitrievich {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kondratiev-nikolai-dmitrievich |access-date=December 29, 2022 |website=www.encyclopedia.com |archive-date=July 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701224009/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404100667.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Towards the end of the 19th century, {{Ill|Nicolas-Remi Brück|fr}} and {{Ill|Charles Henri Lagrange|fr}} extended their analysis into [[geopolitics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=ha010090244#:~:text=##+Math%C3%A9matique+de+l'histoire,org%E3%80%91|title=Mathématique de l'histoire-géometrie et cinématique. Lois de Brück. Chronologie géodésique de la Bible., by Charles LAGRANGE et al. | The Online Books Page|website=onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu}}</ref> [[Peter Turchin]] has worked on developing [[cliodynamics]] since the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cliodynamics: a science for predicting the future |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/cliodynamics-a-science-for-predicting-the-future/ |access-date=December 29, 2022 |website=ZDNET |language=en |archive-date=December 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229204104/https://www.zdnet.com/article/cliodynamics-a-science-for-predicting-the-future/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Even so, mathematization of the social sciences is not without danger. In the controversial book ''[[Fashionable Nonsense]]'' (1997), [[Alan Sokal|Sokal]] and [[Jean Bricmont|Bricmont]] denounced the unfounded or abusive use of scientific terminology, particularly from mathematics or physics, in the social sciences.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sokal|first=Alan|url=https://archive.org/details/fashionablenonse00soka|title=Fashionable Nonsense|author2=Jean Bricmont|publisher=Picador|year=1998|isbn=978-0-312-19545-8|location=New York|oclc=39605994|author-link=Alan Sokal|author2-link=Jean Bricmont}}</ref> The study of [[complex systems]] (evolution of unemployment, business capital, demographic evolution of a population, etc.) uses mathematical knowledge. However, the choice of counting criteria, particularly for unemployment, or of models, can be subject to controversy.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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