[MUDDOG]

I naively suggested he might have it backwards, that usually the mathematics are constructed to explain the physical process

There's an interplay between math and physics, so it's like what came first, the chicken or the egg.

In the case of general relativity, Einstein was floundering around for how to mathematize it until he happened upon tensor analysis. Same thing for quantum mechanics; the Hilbert space was there first, and turned out to be an excellent fit.

Sometimes it goes the other way, e.g., physics first, as with Newton and Fourier.

[TopQuark]

In the case of general relativity, Einstein was floundering around for how to mathematize it until he happened upon tensor analysis. Interesting... I recall reading that he acually took calculus in college: Minkowski himself was teaching it. Are my recollections incorrect?