  Pure mathematics is in this respect very different from ordinary empirical truths. Had intelligent life never existed, this article would not have been written. More interestingly, pure mathematics also contrasts with various social conventions and constructions, with which it is sometimes compared (Cole 2009, Feferman 2009, Hersh 1997). Had intelligent life never existed, there would have been no laws, contracts, or marriages—yet the mathematical truths would have remained the same. 