Abstract

Science and humanities divide the world, but also unite it. This attitude is the only one that brings progress and has the goal of creating an understanding of the world. This is reflected in our collaboration for this volume. Each project brings its own particular view of the roles of the concept of “number,” “measurement,” and “pattern” in understanding the world in each discipline considered. As different as these views are, there are also many similarities. In particular, three basic sets of themes can be identified that connect many of the individual contributions: first, the juxtaposition, the fusion, and the cross-fertilization of qualitative and quantitative approaches; second, the application, the interpretation, and the critical classification of mathematical and computational methods; and third, the quantification of different areas of life and science as a subject of inquiry.