Originally Posted by molloby

The fact is that every single concept in mathematics is an abstraction, from unity upwards.

It is a frame-work that we put around the world in which we live in the same way that physics is. It is however a human construction and a product of how we percieve the world.

It would be extremely interesting to see what another intelligent race would come up with in its place. I see it as hubris, however, to assume that it would be much alike.