--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nature does not count nor do integers…" description: "\"Nature does not count nor do integers occur in nature. Man made them all, integers and all the rest, Kronecker to the contrary notwithstanding.\" — Perc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_contrary_nature-does-not-count-nor-do-integers-oc_2682091.png" --- # Nature does not count nor do integers occur in nature. Man… ![“Nature does not count nor do integers occur in nature. Man made them all, integers and all the rest, Kronecker to the contrary notwithstanding.” quote by Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_contrary_nature-does-not-count-nor-do-integers-oc_2682091.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_contrary_nature-does-not-count-nor-do-integers-oc_2682091.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/741/percy-williams-bridgman-26709_contrary_nature-does-not-count-nor-do-integers-oc_2682091.png) > “Nature does not count nor do integers occur in nature. Man made them all, integers and all the rest, Kronecker to the contrary notwithstanding.” [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Integers and counting are human constructs, not natural phenomena. **In simple terms:** Numbers are man-made. Key Takeaway Recognize abstract nature of math. Themes philosophy science mathematics Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - education curricula - science communication - philosophical debate Key Concepts ontology mathematical abstraction Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect scientific modeling? - Can we ever fully separate math from reality? A Different Perspective Some argue natural patterns reflect discrete counts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Integers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integers/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-kronecker/god-made-the-integers-all-the-rest-is-the-work-of-man/) [Leopold Kronecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-kronecker/) > [The Good Lord made all the integers; the rest is man's doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-kronecker/the-good-lord-made-all-the-integers-the-rest-is-man-s-doing/) [Leopold Kronecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-kronecker/) > [The development of mathematics towards greater precision has led, as is well known, to the formalization of large tracts of it, so that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-g-del/the-development-of-mathematics-towards-greater-precision-has-led-as/) [Kurt Gödel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-g-del/) > [Integers are the fountainhead of all mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-minkowski/integers-are-the-fountainhead-of-all-mathematics/) [Hermann Minkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-minkowski/) > [In this communication I wish first to show in the simplest case of the hydrogen atom (nonrelativistic and undistorted) that the usual rates for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/in-this-communication-i-wish-first-to-show-in-the-simplest-case-of/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [I read in the proof sheets of Hardy on Ramanujan: "As someone said, each of the positive integers was one of his personal friends."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/i-read-in-the-proof-sheets-of-hardy-on-ramanujan-as-someone-said-each/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The gods and their tranquil abodes appear, which no winds disturb, nor clouds bedew with showers, nor does the white snow, hardened by frost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-gods-and-their-tranquil-abodes-appear-which-no-winds-disturb-nor/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [The series of integers is obviously an invention of the human mind, a self-created tool which simplifies the ordering of certain sensory experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-series-of-integers-is-obviously-an-invention-of-the-human-mind-a/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Increasing pressure on students to subject themselves to ever more tests, whittling themselves down to rows and rows of tight black integers upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/increasing-pressure-on-students-to-subject-themselves-to-ever-more/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [The page of my notebook was filled with many messy integrals, but all of a sudden I saw emerge a formula for counting. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-page-of-my-notebook-was-filled-with-many-messy-integrals-but-all/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Numbers are the product of counting. Quantities are the product of measurement. This means that numbers can conceivably be accurate because there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/numbers-are-the-product-of-counting-quantities-are-the-product-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [If we can dispel the delusion that learning about computers should be an activity of fiddling with array indexes and worrying whether X is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-can-dispel-the-delusion-that-learning-about-computers-should-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God made the integers, man made the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-kronecker/god-made-the-integers-man-made-the-rest/) [Leopold Kronecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-kronecker/) > [Arithmetic starts with the integers and proceeds by successively enlarging the number system by rational and negative numbers, irrational numbers, etc... But the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-robinson/arithmetic-starts-with-the-integers-and-proceeds-by-successively/) [Abraham Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-robinson/) > [Is a woman a thinking unit at all, or a fraction always wanting its integer?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/is-a-woman-a-thinking-unit-at-all-or-a-fraction-always-wanting-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More by Percy Williams Bridgman > [To find the length of an object, we have to perform certain physical operations. The concept of length is therefore fixed when the operations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/to-find-the-length-of-an-object-we-have-to-perform-certain-physical/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The true meaning of a term is to be found by observing what a man does with it, not by what he says about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-true-meaning-of-a-term-is-to-be-found-by-observing-what-a-man/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [It seems to me that there is a good deal of ballyhoo about scientific method. I venture to think that the people who talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/it-seems-to-me-that-there-is-a-good-deal-of-ballyhoo-about-scientific/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [Coincidence is what you have left over when you apply a bad theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/coincidence-is-what-you-have-left-over-when-you-apply-a-bad-theory/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [I can see no justification whatever for the attitude which refuses on purely a priori grounds to accept action at a distance ... Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/i-can-see-no-justification-whatever-for-the-attitude-which-refuses-on/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [My point of view is that science is essentially private, whereas the almost universal counter point of view, explicitly stated in many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/my-point-of-view-is-that-science-is-essentially-private-whereas-the/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The first business of a man of science is to proclaim the truth as he finds it, and let the world adjust itself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-first-business-of-a-man-of-science-is-to-proclaim-the-truth-as-he/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [But ... the working scientist ... is not consciously following any prescribed course of action, but feels complete freedom to utilize any method or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/but-the-working-scientist-is-not-consciously-following-any-prescribed/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The result is that a generation of physicists is growing up who have never exercised any particular degree of individual initiative, who have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-result-is-that-a-generation-of-physicists-is-growing-up-who-have/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [“The attitude which the man in the street unconsciously adopts towards science is capricious and varied. At one moment he scorns the scientist for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-attitude-which-the-man-in-the-street-unconsciously-adopts-towards/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [There is no adequate defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/there-is-no-adequate-defense-except-stupidity-against-the-impact-of-a/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [In general, we mean by any concept nothing more than a set of operations; the concept is synonymous with the corresponding set of operations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/in-general-we-mean-by-any-concept-nothing-more-than-a-set-of/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [The operational approach demands that we make our reports and do our thinking in the freshest terms of which we are capable, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/the-operational-approach-demands-that-we-make-our-reports-and-do-our/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [“Not only are there meaningless questions, but many of the problems with which the human intellect has tortured itself turn out to be only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-williams-bridgman/not-only-are-there-meaningless-questions-but-many-of-the-problems/) [Percy Williams Bridgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-williams-bridgman/) > [If a specific question has meaning, it must be possible to find operations by which an answer may be given to it ... 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