Holy cow Glen, that's GREAT, thanks.
Maybe we should start a tradition of summarizing like this when
threads get rather long. Then Nick can put them into the wiki?
-- Owen
On Jul 17, 2008, at 10:08 AM, glen e. p. ropella wrote:
>
> I'll attempt to identify the core of the recent Mathematics and XYZ
> thread, going back to Nick's original kernel:
>
> Nicholas Thompson wrote:
>> All, One of the running arguments I have with one of my favorite
>> colleagues here in Santa Fe is about whether Mathematics is (or
>> isn't) different from all other intellectual enterprises, such as
>> psychology or philosophy. in that, unlike them, mathematics "adds
>> up," in the long run. Contrary to psychologists and philosophers like
>> me, who are besotted with ephemeral traditions and ideologies, and
>> keep changing the rules of the game, mathematicians have built a
>> structure that is not subject to vicissitudes and whims of
>> intellectual history. (I hope I have represented this argument
>> fairly.) Although I have tried to give him as little comfort as
>> possible, I confess that I have been impressed more and more by this
>> argument as I continue to read accessible works on the history of
>> mathematics.
>
> The core of the question came up several times. In essence, it's
> about
> whether or not progress (or accumulation) is illusory or objectively
> real, and whether math exhibits progress more obviously than other
> domains.
>
> We fleshed out the question by claiming and counter-claiming about
> whether math is a purely social construct or whether it is (and how it
> might be) hooked directly to reality, even to the extent that reality
> may be mathematical.
>
> So, there we are. Was anything achieved in this meandering thread?
> Most certainly. Are the achievements quantifiable? Most definitely
> not.
>
> In any case, I feel the pressure to shut up for awhile. [grin] So, I
> will comply.
>
> --
> glen e. p. ropella, 971-219-3846, http://tempusdictum.com
>
>
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============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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