Math Demystified

I appreciate the crucial role that math and science have played, and will continue to play, in advancement of human civilization. So, I am all for encouraging math and science in school curriculum. After all, I am an engineer by profession.

That said, I would like to demystify math by pointing out that the definition of 1 is at the very core of math, and the equation 1 = 1 is at the very core of all equations. Along those lines, once we define what 1 apple is and what 1 pear is, we can make sense of the following equalities: 

1 apple = 1 apple

1 apple + 1 apple = 2 apples

1 apple + 1 pear = 1 apple + 1 pear

1 apple - 1 apple = 0 apple

Notably, and understandably, 1 apple - 1 pear = undefined 

Note that the same equalities cannot be applied to subjects like anger, hunger, and pain – unless, we can first define what 1 anger, 1 hunger, or 1 pain means. But such definitions, as well as their associated equalities, will be nonsensical and will fall beyond the reaches of math. Math, and science for that matter, despite their grandiosity, have limitations.