2015/06/24 by Peter Woit, Woit, Peter
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Operator Algebra Research #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #physics.hist-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1506.07576
9 pages. Submitted to a 2015 FQXi essay contest
arxiv created 2015/06/24 · openalex publication_date 2015/06/24 · arxiv updated 2015/06/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Wigner's "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" in physics can be understood as a reflection of a deep and unexpected unity between the fundamental structures of mathematics and of physics. Some of the history of evidence for this is reviewed, emphasizing developments since Wigner's time and still poorly understood analogies between number theory and quantum field theory.