I have decided that the most characteristic thing about Math is the way it ignores intermediate steps. I call that the original sin of mathematics. Every equation, like "2+2" equals "4" is an ignoring of the difference between two narratives. They end up in the same place.
Consider the Piaget concept of "object permanence", where a child learns that things can be hidden but still exist. Isn't that lesson based on knowing the outcome is the same, whether or not the object is hidden? I take it then, that this early cognitive processing is, in some sense, Math. Even earlier a baby would have learned about object "constancy", meaning moving things did not change.
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