On 12/7/2019 1:57 AM, Philip Thrift wrote:
Physicists seeking such a mesh between mathematics and physics can only
alter one side of the equation. The physical world is as it is, and
will not change at our command.
It is generally overlooked that the above is not strictly true. Physics
has often moved phenomena from the category of "explained by science" to
"accident of nature" and sometimes back. For example Kepler thought the
number of planets should be a consequence of natural law. Newton
dropped this from his theory. The shape of continents was considered a
geological accident...until Wegner showed they came from the breakup of
a single continent. The world may not change, but the part we take to
be "law like" and the part we consider "accident of nature" are flexible.
Brent
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