Response to "From Fish to Infinity" by Steven Strogatz

There are occasions when the origin of a mathematical concept is mentioned by a teacher during their instruction, and I think of "their philosophical status": "Where exactly do numbers come from? Did humanity invent them? Or discover them?" Steven goes on to explain that mathematical concepts are concrete and we created them, yet "we can't control them." Throughout this article Strogatz writes of the use of numbers (giving the example of counting fish from a Sesame Street episode)and the fact that addition is built upon numbers and that more mathematical concepts are built upon the idea of addition until you can reach infinity. This article is just one of a new series Steven Strogatz has started to explain the "elements of mathematics, from pre-school to grad school."