Number alone lets the mind measure continuous quantity

Evidence

It is only by means of discrete quantity, i.e. number, that continuous quantity can be measured by the mind; that any precise idea of any particular quantity can be formed. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 460

Categorization

• DEFINE: Bentham gives a crisp epistemic priority: continuous quantity is only knowable through discrete number.
• XREF: connects to: Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264; Ideas wear less with time than words do, making mathematical patterns more durable — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 168

Broader Connections

• Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought #expands (0.82) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264
• Ideas wear less with time than words do, making mathematical patterns more durable #corroborates (0.75) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 168