What is it, if not an art?
Truth.
What is truth if we are free to pick our axioms?
The universe is either Euclidean or not. If it were, how can theorems on non-Euclidean geometry be true?
You pick your axioms and you see what must be true. With math and logic, we can reason about any possible universe even though we live in only one of them.
A science?
It isn’t even as constrained by material reality as mixing oil paints to get a certain effect is.
Nope. Science demands empirical verification. Math doesn't. No theorem is violated based on experiments and observations.
Truth.
What is truth if we are free to pick our axioms?
The universe is either Euclidean or not. If it were, how can theorems on non-Euclidean geometry be true?
You pick your axioms and you see what must be true. With math and logic, we can reason about any possible universe even though we live in only one of them.
A science?
It isn’t even as constrained by material reality as mixing oil paints to get a certain effect is.
Nope. Science demands empirical verification. Math doesn't. No theorem is violated based on experiments and observations.