Essay Abstract
I review how discrete structures, embodied in the integers, appear in the laws of physics, from quantum mechanics to statistical mechanics to the Standard Model. I argue that the integers are emergent. If we are looking to build the future laws of physics, discrete mathematics is no better a starting point than the rules of scrabble.
Author Bio
David Tong is a theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge and adjunct professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.