The Mathematics of Separate Things

By Birgit Baustädter Discrete mathematics is so much more than just "the language of computer science", as it is often referred to. But it is not "discrete" in the usual sense. Points are particularly discrete. Discrete mathematics derives from the Latin discernere, which means "to separate". "Discrete mathematics is about delimited or clearly separated objects - such as points, lines or sequences of integers," explains Oswin Aichholzer, a computer scientist at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). "Points are particularly discrete," he adds with a grin. Smiling because, beyond that, the research area of discrete mathematics is very difficult to define.