independent people to prove the same scientific fact mathematically
rather than rhetorically. If they can, they we trust them that
they've proven it.
In a physics class I once derived and proved the formula for
capacitance and I didn't realize it until the professor pointed out
what I had just done!
So yes, Math is a tool, but it proves facts and sometimes we're not
smart enough to see those facts even though we've proved them.
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry C. Lyons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 12:05:39 -0400
Subject: Re: Here we go again....
To: CF-Community <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Math isn't science. Its a tool of science but not science.
larry
On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 11:54:46 -0400, Won Lee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> At 11:36 9/28/2004 -0400, you wrote:
> >Nope, facts only. There is a saying I love which illustrates the point,
> >
> >The great tragedy of science - where one ugly fact kills a beautiful theory.
> >
> >Science does not operate on faith. Faith is completely unnecessary.
> >Data and theory (ie models of reality) are what is necessary. You can
> >toss faith out the window and still do very good science. Essentially
> >faith is orthoginal to real science.
> >
> >larry
>
>
> Larry,
>
> I want to actually read through the long post that you sent me before I
> respond to it. But in the mean time let me address this.
>
> Again I will ask about Poincare. If Poincare is to be proven true and
> there is some optimism at the math department at Columbia it will be and is
> made a mathematically true; I hope you can prove that it is all
> factual. Because I can't. I've been told that there is at most 5 people
> in the world that can actually understand the proof enough to even make a
> determination if it is correct or not. So if these 5 people claim that
> this proof is correct what is the rest of the world going to do? There
> will be a small population that will still try to work on it to prove it
> isn't true but the rest of us are left to believe it is true because we
> have faith that the expertise of 5 independent people said so.
>
> The thing is I don't have a problem with this type of faith in
> science. Then again I don't have a problem with organized religion even
> though I don't really practice.
>
>
>________________________________
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