Mathematics is frequently encountered in association and interaction with astronomy, physics, and other branches of natural science, and it also has deep-rooted affinities to the humanities. Actually, it is a realm of knowledge entirely unto itself, and one of considerable scope; the word mathematics stems from a root which means learnable knowledge. Mathematical knowledge is commonly deemed to have a high degree of validity, irrespective of culture conditioning and predilection, although it can be argued that, in the past, cultural settings have affected its development noticeably.