To add, in a curvy space like spacetime straight lines are not euclidean lines. All of the lines on this wood are "straight" as they trace out the shortest path *on the surface* between their start and end--called a geodesic. If you run your finger along them, there's no "turn." Mathematical art!

In a curved space (like spacetime), straight lines are not euclidean lines. All of the lines on this board are "straight" bc if you run your finger along them they don't turn. Also, they trace out the shortest path *on the surface* between their start and end points. This is called a geodesic.

Resultingly, I find calling math a language is not entirely wrong, but it treats math as the product, not the process. Math *has* a language, not *is* such.

You must begin by learning to read a map, so much of school math includes the language which makes math more accessible. The symbols and accompanying rules enable thinking about this process easier and clearer, and you learn to make new maps, but you cannot make new maps if you cannot wander.

This map often uses the shared language that we have developed which enables doing math. Learning math is not only learning to get to the exit, but learning to wander the maze yourself, and produce maps for later adventurers.

My analogy: Doing math is exploring a maze where you know where you start, you have a sense of a goal, and you know the rules for finding the next rooms in the maze. The *wandering of the maze* is doing the math; wandering is not language. The map you give another wanderer, though...