There are people in biology who really do math

[BillTre]

Here is some of a special issue of Genetics of articles using math:

Many of the articles are open access. They can be seen here.
Those articles with the unlocked padlock can be read for free.

 

[sbrothy]

I'm pretty sure you're loathe to hear it, which I suspect is why I insist on it's postulation, but history and philosophy use math too. Unfortunately my math isn't as strong as yours so I'm hard pressed to find the good examples.

History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
James Clerk Maxwell on quantities and units


History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
"That Star Is Not on the Map": The German Side of the discovery

Neptune was telescopically discovered by Johan Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Louis d'Arrest in Berlin on 23 September 1846 based on the prediction by Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier. The role German astronomers played in the discovery has often been overshadowed by the controversies that erupted in England and France after the discovery. However, their role was crucial, not only in bringing about the discovery in the first place, but also in resolving some of the post-discovery controversies that erupted around priority for the prediction and naming of the planet. German astronomers in Central and Eastern Europe possessed some of the best telescopes of the day and had established themselves over several decades as being at the forefront of observational astronomy. They had produced the star charts that in the end proved indispensable for allowing identification of the planet, while a German publication, Astronomische Nachrichten, published by H. C. Schumacher in Altona, in the vicinity of Hamburg, then part of the Kingdom of Denmark, served as the journal of record. The general neglect of the German part of the story is most strongly attested by the inaccuracies concerning what actually happened on discovery night, which were long propagated in the English-speaking literature. Notably, for 30 years after the discovery, it was not appreciated that there were two observers, while the role of the sky map used was often exaggerated. This chapter sets forth a more complete picture, and in particular emphasises more than previous accounts the critical role of d'Arrest, arguing that he should be celebrated as a co-discoverer. In addition, evidence presented here, much of it not previously available in the English-speaking literature, shows that the name "Neptune" was eventually accepted throughout the scientific community based on German precedents.

History and Overview (math.HO); History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
Mathematics in the liturgical books of the Catholic Church: phases of the ecclesiastical moon

We use contemporary mathematical notation to describe the method for determining the age of the ecclesiastical moon as mandated by pope Gregory XIII and elaborated in the book of Christopher Clavius \emph{Romani calendarii explicatio}. The algorithm is first introduced by using the tabular method employed by liturgical books such as the Roman Missal, Breviary and Martyrology. Then we construct the recurrence equation for the epacts, derive its solution, and give a simple expression for the age of the moon on a given day of the year. We also consider the problems which can occur at the transition from December 31 to January 1 of the next year, when there could be a ``jump'' in moon's age ("saltus lunae") in years when epact corrections are applied. We propose a simple solution which fixes these problems. A summary of the formulae and listing of the implementation of relevant functions in Python is provided in the last section.

 

[Dale]

history and philosophy use math too

Investigating the history of math or the philosophy of math is not exactly the same as using math.

A more convincing reference would be something e.g. where a mathematical model is used to predict the contents of missing historical documents, or mathematical models to establish authorship. I believe that similar things do exist and would better qualify as history using math.

I am more skeptical about philosophers.

 

[PAllen]

Investigating the history of math or the philosophy of math is not exactly the same as using math.

A more convincing reference would be something e.g. where a mathematical model is used to predict the contents of missing historical documents, or mathematical models to establish authorship. I believe that similar things do exist and would better qualify as history using math.

I am more skeptical about philosophers.

Well, some philosophers of foundations of physics use math fully equal to any theoretical physicist. Of course, you can “claim them” as physicists in disguise.

 

[martinbn]

It doesn't seem that they use much math. I think there are better examples in mathematical biology where it is hard to tell if it is biology or just analysis of PDE.

 

[Mark44]

Investigating the history of math or the philosophy of math is not exactly the same as using math.

Exactly.

 

[256bits]

Exactly.

Well, historians did do some math, and they got it all wrong for the length of the 100 Years War, which actually lasted from 1337- 1453.

 

[sbrothy]

Investigating the history of math or the philosophy of math is not exactly the same as using math.

A more convincing reference would be something e.g. where a mathematical model is used to predict the contents of missing historical documents, or mathematical models to establish authorship. I believe that similar things do exist and would better qualify as history using math.

I am more skeptical about philosophers.

You're right of course. And my lacking math knowledge makes it hard for me to even discuss. This philosophical skepticism among STEM people (even when it's perfectly reasonable, which I admit it often is) is what I jokingly referred to. In fact, trying to translate an idiom from my own language I found it's kind of a hobbyhorse of mine.

 

[BillTre]

I think there are better examples in mathematical biology where it is hard to tell if it is biology or just analysis of PDE.

There has been an influx of math and physics people into a number of biological sub-fields. Areas like genetics (like Watson and Crick and genetic's coding requirements), neurobiology (lots of stuff on networks and bioengineering of moving bodies), ecology (networks), development (networks and modelling), circadian rhythms (comparing cyclic rhythms), and evolution (building phylogenies, using such large numbers of traits that computers and mathematical analyses are required) come to mind.
I have worked in tow labs run by former physicists. They thought of themselves as biologists, but with a strong emphasis on the math. Numberskulls one might say. They brought some biologists into their labs which complimented their skills nicely.

 

[sbrothy]

I tried to use Dunbar's number in my answer without linking to Wiki and getting too far from biology but that just seemed to catch me in an asymptotically flat anthropic arXiv loop.

I'm well but loosely read so my knowledge is wide but unfortunately shallow.

(I'll leave some commas for you to pepper this with,,,,,)

 

[AlexB23]

@sbrothy Biology and math are tied together. Protein folding simulations (Folding@Home) use a lot of brute force math to calculate how the structures of proteins evolve. Nowadays, that modeling is also being done with AlphaFold.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/0901.0866