RE: Applicability of Maths to the Universe
June 13, 2020 at 9:38 pm
(This post was last modified: June 13, 2020 at 9:38 pm by GrandizerII.)
(June 13, 2020 at 3:45 pm)Jehanne Wrote:(June 13, 2020 at 11:08 am)polymath257 Wrote: Yes, there is an aspect of math that cuts across cultures. But this is also true of other basic linguistic concepts. So, cat, chat, gato, mao, etc as opposed to two, deux, dos, er.
One difference is that math is a *formal* language: it has internal rules that are not present in most natural languages. And, for mathematicians, playing with and exploiting those formal rules are the essence of the game.
And, yes, mathematics really is like a very complex game for those doing mathematics. It has rules about what 'plays' are legal, it has goals (theorems), etc. It can even be helpful to *think* of the mathematical concepts visually and in other ways.
In exactly what sense do numbers have an 'independent existence'? From what I can see, the 'number 2' is a shorthand for all the cases where counting two objects is a useful thing to do. And the mathematical object 2 allows for such modeling.
WLC does not accept ZFC, and in particular, the Axiom of Infinity. He is an ultra finitist, except, of course, when it comes to his God's attributes. Dr. James Lindsay's book Dot, Dot, Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly has a in-depth look at this.
(June 13, 2020 at 12:29 am)Grandizer Wrote: Even though WLC is not the main point, the debate I was referring to happened like very recently and he was using this line of reasoning. Do you mean he abandoned it very recently?
WLC does not appear to be very active any more. His Reasonable Faith calendar is mostly empty.
Ah go on YouTube. Search Graham Oppy and WLC
