A trick, when disclosed, has the surprise characteristic of changing one's opinion with respect to original assumptions. There is widespread confusion as to what constitutes "truth". 0 and 1 are assumed mathematical "facts"; however, their infinite variety in combination can never be known. Thus, by inference, the absolute truth is absolutely inaccessible. Facts serve to connect experience with existence and so found truth in reason. Human knowledge is comprised of concepts, none of which are absolute or eternal but rather are subject to repeated testing and revision to reconcile them with logic and experience. It follows that truth, like knowledge, is elusive and ephemeral, the desire for truth being the motivation behind the pursuit of knowledge while knowledge is evidence in support of a theory of truth. The test of truth was to become whether a concept was repeatedly confirmed by experience to be so, while always remaining open to further clarification. Absolutism as a common assumption of incontrovertibility is the securest of states and therefore the most naturally attractive. This flawed thinking is attributable to a misunderstanding as to what truth and knowledge do. They are not absolutely secure handles upon which one can rely for support at all times. They are best supporting actors, mental aids available to sustain one in particular situations at particular places and times. The science of physics investigates the properties of physical entities and is dependent upon evidence for its veracity. It is concerned with distinguishing the qualities inherent in things, and their inter-relations, while mathematics accounts for their quantities. Mathematics has assumed the function of uniting otherwise irreconcilable ideas through their reduction to numbers. If there is a "mysterious connection" implicit in the relation between physics and mathematics, it is because we do not have the perspicacity to identify their correct relationship.
Gary Valentine Hansen