RE: Do you believe in god or math?
October 5, 2011 at 12:59 am
(This post was last modified: October 5, 2011 at 1:13 am by IATIA.)
(October 4, 2011 at 10:37 pm)Pendragon Wrote: Do you think it "means" something else? Just asking.
In a word, Yes!
Definitions are subjective. With the exception of axioms and the like.
1+1=2. Absolutely. (Damn, there it is again!) That is an axiom. Not up for debate, no ands, ifs or buts, no interpretations. That is the basis for all mathematics. (I did however engage in a short debate on that subject. Like talking to a xtian)
The symbols are common language and notation for mathematics. They are objective only in the respect that they are accepted universally for clarity.
Back to subjective definitions. Definitions are decided by the powers that be through common usage and collected into a reference to be adopted as 'rule'. Words and definitions change, however, on a daily basis. Ergo, subjective.
Math does not change. 1+1=2 now and it did 5000 years ago. Drop a stone and the rate of fall for that particular event will always be the same. The description of that fall can be subjective. What variables should be used? Should the position of the sun and moon be considered or is the effect negligible? Negligible is not non-existent though. Should the effect of Jupiter be considered?
9.8m/s is not an absolute. It depends on the position of the planets and the point on earth the measurement is made. It is not the math that changes, it is the variables.
Is math discovered or invented? I side with Plato on this idea. The language of math was invented but the math itself has always existed and we are discovering it, even to this day.
Quote:The Platonic notion is that mathematics is the imperturbable structure that underlies the very architecture of the universe
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson
God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers
Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders
Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
-- Homer Simpson
God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers
Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders
Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
