One reason why it makes sense to say certain mathematical statements are “true” is because if you do, then you can build airplanes. Mathematical structures seem to be really intertwined with reality, and math seems to be built into how we think about things (to some degree). If I tried to claim that there are only 17 cities in the world, you’d call bullshit becuase… well duh, there’s clearly more than 17 cities. But if I was being obstinate and kept arguing from some wierd relatevisitc perspective, the counter arguments you’d come up with would probably start to look like formal mathematics after a point. (dislaimer: Have not actually tried this)
One reason why it makes sense to say certain mathematical statements are “true” is because if you do, then you can build airplanes. Mathematical structures seem to be really intertwined with reality, and math seems to be built into how we think about things (to some degree). If I tried to claim that there are only 17 cities in the world, you’d call bullshit becuase… well duh, there’s clearly more than 17 cities. But if I was being obstinate and kept arguing from some wierd relatevisitc perspective, the counter arguments you’d come up with would probably start to look like formal mathematics after a point. (dislaimer: Have not actually tried this)