Originally Posted by Fadingstar

Is it just a tool, or has it become something almost akin to a deity that we most follow without question?

Originally Posted by Celestial Mechanic

Remembering my days as a math major (my BS is in math) I would say most mathematicians would not care if atomic particles as described by their model actually existed. A common attitude is expressed in the toast attributed to G. W. Hardy: "To pure mathematics, may it be of no use to anybody."

The problem (if it may be called that) with mathematics is that not only can it describe any universe thrown at it, such as the one that we live in, but it can describe much else besides, and all by itself it cannot tell us which of the things it describes is actually relevant. That is why we have to put down the paper and pencil, look out the window, and use those erasers every once in a while.