Debating the Status of Mathematics

18 February 2026

The St Andrews Union Debating Society is a long-standing institution around these parts. Founded in 1794, this student-run society hosts regular debates. Last week, the society collaborated with SUMS, the St Andrews University Mathematics Society, to host a public debate on the status of mathematics, featuring the eminent Emeritus Professor Peter Cameron and my colleague Dr Walter Pedriali on one side, and on the other, Dr David Waszek (an historian and philosopher of mathematics working at the ÉNS in Paris), and me.

The proposition at issue was officially phrased as “this house believes that mathematics is a human invention rather than a discovery”, but the advertised title was the rather more inflammatory “this house believes that maths is fake.” David and I had the pleasure of arguing for the proposition, while Walter and Peter argued against.

There were over 200 people in attendance, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I got to exercise some muscles I rarely work with, so it was stretching for me, and the audience seemed to enjoy themselves, too. David and I lost the public vote (by not a small margin—we managed to sway only around 40% of the audience), but I think we made a good showing for ourselves.

If you’d like to see for yourselves, the evening was recorded and can be seen here: