Well, ok, but since thoughts of a possible ET arose in the mind of man mathematics has been described by scientists and science fiction writers alike as the only universal language with which we might begin communication. The "contact plate" placed aboard the voyager spacecraft attests to this. Now, I'm no believer in ET ever contacting us, at least in our lifetime, if he exists, so please don't go off on some tangent about "ET." I mention this only to point out that the concept is not difficult to understand. Because mathematics is really only counting, it already exists. The universe was counting long before our galaxy existed, continuing to match the same number of electrons with protons and with a myriad of other examples existing.
Paraphrased from one of my texts as best I remember it: Plato first said that Mathematics is the language of God. In the late Renaissance, science came to be seen as dialogue with nature. and success of mathematical physics led to thinking that "mathematics is the language of God." Kepler shared the Greek view that mathematics was the language of God. Or as one modern writer penned, "Mathematics is the language of God, in which the book of the universe is written. The better we understand that language, the better we understand the world it describes." Now before you go off half cocked assuming that I'm appealing to deity, which I'm not, try to understand what they were/are saying here - Mathematics is universal and preexists us all. As to the math professors to whom you prefer, they are translators, discoverers of another, more ancient language. As to your question, "What, was differential calculus just out there on the savannahs waiting for the Neanderthals to discover it?" Well, in accordance with classical thought, yes! What we express using differential equations was already taking place for everyone to see,written in nature and performed for example. Now, not everyone subscribes to this way of looking at mathematics, but it is an integral part of historical thought regarding mathematics. I assume that this view of mathematics and nature is not your preferred view. This is fine, but that's no excuse for deriding this view inasmuch as it is ancient, classical and in no way interferes with modern theory. Sometimes it's a good idea to step back, get a new pair of glasses and view a subject unencumbered by the myopia to which we have become so accustomed. We might even find that we can actually enter into conversation with those you could not understand before. With a wider view, we may even see our world as richer than we heretofore imagined. Regards, Bob.... -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!" - Benjamin Franklin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Johnston" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:29 PM Subject: Re: Numbers and the Golden Section > > What you are > > saying is EXACTLY what I and others have been saying. When I and others say > > or allude to the fact that mathematics existed before the dawn of time > > > Sorry, Bob, but I'm with Dr. Don on this one. What he's said about six times > is perfectly correct and I think you're the one not getting it. Mathematics > is a human invention and a late one. It hasn't "existed since the dawn of > time." How did it exist? Were there dinosaur math professors? It's a human > invention, practiced by humans, and it's evolving--it's a hell of a lot more > advanced right now than it was fifty or a hundred years ago, never mind > since the dawn of time. What, was differential calculus just out there on > the savannahs waiting for the Neanderthals to discover it? > > What you're saying makes no more sense than saying that carburetors have > existed since the dawn of time. Or scissors, or opera. > > --Mike > >
