Xero

If math was all arbitrary the world would be in a chaotic state. Go google it up.

Edit: Nm, Just remembered it already is. George Bush is president.

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uman

LOL!

Obviously not all math is arbitrary. But definitions are. For instance, we didn't have to call the ratio of the circumference to the diameter "Pi". We could have called it "Oooogledyboogledy". But we didn't. The decision was arbitrary. Therefore you cannot "prove" that Pi is c/d, as that is it's definition. Do you understand what I'm talking about?

Xero

Umm Actually you would prove that pi applies for all circles in general. You can't just make an assumption that 3.14... applies to every circle. Every thing has a proof (minus the simple fundamentals). Same applies to tangent, cosine, and sine. You would prove that the relationship exists and applies in all situations.

Sure you could give anything a random name, but you have to prove what it states is true and applicable in all situations that it claims.

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uman

Well, yes, I suppose someone has proven that the same value for Tan, Cos, and Sin apply to all right triangles. But that doesn't change the fact that they are definitions. So I guess we meant different things by "prove"