RE: Do you believe in god or math?
September 29, 2011 at 1:57 am
(This post was last modified: September 29, 2011 at 2:13 am by The Grand Nudger.)
Had a conversation eerily similar to this a bit ago. Long story short. The symbols we use, the words themselves are (as far as we know) uniquely human. As has been said, a beaver may measure distance with its tail. But if a beavers tail is 12 inches long, and we measure out a distance of two feet, the beaver will measure out two beavers tails. We will use a different "language" to describe the same observation. Numbers, shapes, angles, distance etc are all observations of the world around us placed within a standard frame of reference to make it easy to communicate with one another with regards to the observation. As such, they do not require "belief". They are something that we observe, and something for which almost any of us is prepared to demonstrate with nothing more than a pocketful of change.
To use a particularly illustrative example. Does a circle have 360 degrees? Yes, if one uses our system as a standard it does. But why? Well, you can thank the babylonians who used a sexigecimal system, which is great if you don't have access to a calculator. Laying that aside, a circle could have 4 degrees, but it would be hard to land a shell on target at great distance with only 4 degrees to measure by. Similarly, over great distances, you'll rarely see a whole number employed for a degree. 66.7, or 33.33432 would be more common. This allows for more accuracy. One could say that a circle has more than 360 degrees, but that's not how our system is set up. Point is, that these abstractions that we call numbers (in this case degrees) cannot be shown to exist in and of themselves, it is the things that they describe that most certainly do.
(one of the great things about numbers, is that as a language, they are not subjective in the way that others are)
To use a particularly illustrative example. Does a circle have 360 degrees? Yes, if one uses our system as a standard it does. But why? Well, you can thank the babylonians who used a sexigecimal system, which is great if you don't have access to a calculator. Laying that aside, a circle could have 4 degrees, but it would be hard to land a shell on target at great distance with only 4 degrees to measure by. Similarly, over great distances, you'll rarely see a whole number employed for a degree. 66.7, or 33.33432 would be more common. This allows for more accuracy. One could say that a circle has more than 360 degrees, but that's not how our system is set up. Point is, that these abstractions that we call numbers (in this case degrees) cannot be shown to exist in and of themselves, it is the things that they describe that most certainly do.
(one of the great things about numbers, is that as a language, they are not subjective in the way that others are)
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
