Mathematics is just a way of analyzing things in a consistent way via formulas and equations, to make sense of what we see. It is used by animals too, though we say it was invented by humans.
Birds and some other animals can crudely count: 1, 2, more than one or two or three. If you want to ambush a bird, you need 3 or more people to go to the hide, one person stays behind and the others walk away - the bird thinks they have all gone away. If one person goes to the hide alone, the birds watching know someone is there, because they haven't left yet. Simple.
We make it more complicated but it's the same thing, the difference between (A) and (B) leaves (X).
Two infinities: zero to one; and one to 'infinity'.
logarithms, exponents, circular/spherical mathematics, calculus, etc.
More accurate answers require more elaborate manipulations of more extreme ideas - as long as the answers tally up in reverse analysis, and are repeatable by others doing the same mental gymnastics, it is deemed proved or 'solved', or whatever.
Without humans, animals will still look out for other animals waiting to ambush them for their dinner, watching lone hunters and hunting packs equally intently to see if and when it is safe.
Not just 'it is', but how many, how fast, how big, etc.
Then we humans come along and give ones and twos etc. characters to be able to keep written records: one moon, one sun, ten children, 28 - 31 days, 100 villagers, 360 days, a thousand days/nights, then things are getting complicated for an uneducated goat herder.
It's all too complicated to understand and we are getting mystified, someone/something smarter than us must know about it, or even be in charge - give him/her/it a name. The 'one'.
That 'one' being must be powerful - all powerful - to understand the lights in the night sky, scary lightning, deadly volcanoes and earthquakes, why crops failed or wild herds didn't arrive this season, why the sun darkened in the middle of the day, etc.
If we appease or revere the 'one' maybe the drought, famine, epidemic will break.
Then some cunning person says he can hear the 'one' telling him what to do to make things better, and if you give him food, status, land, virgins, whatever, then he will intermediary with the 'one' on the communities behalf, and help the village prosper. But you have to think this way, do these things, don't do those things, and hey presto - religion and dogma wrapped around the belief in the 'one'.
If the droughts or floods or any catastrophy doesn't abate, you are not fulfilling the wishes of the 'one' correctly - it's your fault you unbeliever. Repent or die! - By the hand of men in the name of the 'one'.
Now run that scenario in different lands over different times/ages and you have religious diversity.
Then - my 'one' is better than your 'one' - conflict and war over control of belief.
No one has actually seen or heard the 'one' personally, but they don't want to be excluded from the 'in crowd', so they imagine or lie that they have also heard the 'one's' instructions, for social inclusion and self preservation.
We have more believers in our 'one' than your group has believers in your 'one'. Our one must be the best 'one'. And so on.
Thoughts, ideas, symbols, rituals, rules, writings, art, songs, but no proof of anything but the work of man.
I like it
Your version goes well with my Caveman Bob tales.
Maybe we can get together, start our own religion, not pay taxes and have people send us large sums of money to comfort their souls?
