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Is Mathematics Discovered Or Invented?
An anonymous reader points out an article up at Science News on a question that, remarkably, is still being debated after a few thousand years: is mathematics discovered, or is it invented? Those who answer "discovered" are the intellectual descendants of Plato; their number includes Roger Penrose. The article notes that one difficulty with the Platonic view: if mathematical ideas exist in some way independent of humans or minds, then human minds engaged in doing mathematics must somehow be able to connect with this non-physical state. The European Mathematical Society recently devoted space to the debate. One of the papers, Let Platonism die, can be found on page 24 of this PDF. The author believes that Platonism "has more in common with mystical religions than with modern science."
It's intelligently designed.
"A Lisp programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of nothing." - Alan Perlis
No, it is not "both". Math exi
:-)
Damn, I am too drunk to type. I have one eye closed as I type.... so you win
General, you are listening to a machine! Do the world a favor and don't act like one.
Obviously! I mean, look : one apple, two apples, three apples. There. Numbers. See that funny relation between the diameter and circumference/area of a circle? There's pi. And so on...
I mean, it's a bit like asking wether a tree falling really makes a sound if nobody's there to hear it. Of course it bloody well does!
Oh, and the correct answer is "discovered"
No, I think the correct answer is "Why are you asking the question?" There might be a more interesting (and perhaps answerable) question that underlies it. And how does that make you feel?
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
God invented the integers.
All the rest is the work of man.
You say "day to day use" as though I'd use e-mc^2 when working out value for money on the small vs large box of cereal in the supermarket or something like that.
"Hmm... I wonder if the larger box would still be better value for money if I were eating it in a spaceship with a velocity approaching c"
I hate printers.
No, I think the correct answer is, "What are you asking?"
I don't know what I am asking, but the answer is definitely 42Everyone knows you have to discover mathematics before you can build catapults
Say hello to my little sig.
You mean... is the music on my hard drive stolen or was it collaborated on by hundreds of peers, each telling my box of one small chunk from it?
- shazow