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== Conservatives in the United States ==

Mathematics is the study and practice of rigorous inference about abstract structures. It includes many practical results concerning quantity and measure, such as calculations involving numbers, financial accounting, geometric construction of building, astronomical calculations, calendar dating, telling time, engineering, physics, chemistry, etc. but also more abstract issues such as establishing the conditions under which certain kinds of equations and formulas have solutions. [[Applied mathematics]] concerns the use of mathematical methods for practical purposes. [[Pure mathematics]] involves reasoning about abstract structures. The main areas are:

Let's see, I think that I will annotate your hilarious article on conservatism.

* [[Algebra]]. Broadly, speaking algebra concerns 'addition' and 'multiplication', but in the widest possible sense. The objects that are being added or multiplied can be numbers, as in [[Number theory]], but they can also can be more general structures such as [[matrices]], [[functions]], [[polynomials]], [[vectors]] or many others. Concentrating on addition and multiplication does not exclude subtraction or division, since subtraction is formally considered to be addition of an [[additive inverse]] and division is considered to be multiplication by a [[multiplicative inverse]]. That is, subtracting 3 from 2 is rigorously defined to adding the number -2 to 3. Minus two is called the additive inverse of +2. Similarly, dividing 3 by 2 is formally defined in terms of multiplying 3 by (1/2), where 1/2 is the multiplicative inverse of 2.  Abstract algebra is the study of [[algebraic structures]] such as [[Group (mathematics)|groups]], [[Ring (mathematics)|rings]], and [[Field (mathematics)|fields]].

In the United States, conservatives are generally characterized by adherence to limited government, public morality and free enterprise. Specifically, conservatives tend to adhere to the following principles:

* [[Analysis]]. Analysis is concerned with limits and other infinite processes. This subject includes the theory of limits of sequences and series and all forms of [[calculus]], including the calculus of several variables, [[vector calculus]] and [[tensor calculus]]. Also included is [[numerical analysis]], the study of error propagation in algorithms carried out to finite precision.  Additional topics in analysis include [[real analysis]] and [[complex analysis]].

* A strong national defense (at the expense of everything else)

* [[Geometry]] and [[Topology]]. Geometry was defined by [[Felix Klein]] as the study of [[invariants]] under [[group]]s of [[transformation]]s. For example, the [[Euclidean transformation]]s are [[translation]], [[rotation]] and [[reflection]]. The quantities that are not altered by these transformations are things like angles and distances, so these are the subjects of interest in [[Euclidean geometry]]. Other types of transformations, such as the [[affine transformation]]s, define other types of geometry. Topology is concerned with the connectedness of objects, rather than the distance between them. It is sometimes called 'rubber sheet geometry', as it concerns properties (that is, [[arc]]s between [[node]]s in [[network]]s) of objects that would be preserved even if a diagram of them were to be stretched or shrunk. Topology began with [[Leonard Euler]]'s consideration of the [[Königsberg Bridges Problem]], which also introduced [[Graph Theory]]. [[Beck's map of the London Underground]] in 1933 used a topological distortion of the locations of the subway stations in order to produce a more useful and artistic map. [[Differential geometry]] is a specialized field of its own.

* Return of prayer in school (to specifically exclude people of other creeds and those who aren't naturally inclined to have Christian beliefs rammed down their throat)

* The Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms (seriously, this was a product of the eighteenth century. this amendment has no relevance today.)

* Economic allocative efficiency (as opposed to popular equity)

* Stronger law enforcement and anti-crime laws, including the death penalty (how can you proclaim to be compassionate people and still practice the death penalty?)

* Parents, rather than school teachers, educating children about sex (yet you still want abstinence education in schools)

* Choice in education (their are hundreds of choices in terms of education, and almost all of them are underfunded because of statement 1)

* Weakening or cancellation of failed social support programs (veiled statement of hatred for welfare. classy)

* Opposition to same-sex marriage licenses (because we should accept the tired testimony of a two-thousand year-old rambling piece of religious claptrap when we're considering social issues)

* Support of laws against pornography (because your teenage years should be very uncomfortable)

* Generally opposed to the United Nations (why? I can't even make sense of this one. you're generally opposed to a united peacekeeping force that at least tries to keep the United States' overwhelming influence in line)

* Support enforcement of current laws regarding immigration (so america's population can slowly dwindle until the neocons can repopulate the land [/facetiousness])

* Support tightening of border security (because the great wall of china definitely worked against those damned Mongols)

* Respect for our military...past and present (I like the unnecessary ellipsis . . . but seriously, I agree on this one)

* Low taxes (so that the deficit increases and we have an excuse to spend less on those silly "failed social support programs" [see number 9])

* Opening foreign markets to U.S. products (what is that supposed to mean)

About every 20-60 years a conservative has been elected president of the United States. (bullshit)

* [[Logic]] and [[set theory]]. All of mathematics can be expressed in terms of [[set]]s. Sets are defined by a collection of [[axiom]]s called the [[Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms]]. One of the axioms, the [[Axiom of Choice]], has been the subject of much discussion.