The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics creates many intriguing puzzles: Does mathematics have an existence entirely independent of the human mind? In other words, are we merely discovering mathematical verities, just as astronomers discover previously unknown galaxies? Or, is mathematics nothing but a human invention? If mathematics indeed exist in some abstract fairyland, what is the relation between this mythical world and physical reality? How does the human brain, with its known limitations, gain access to such an immutable world, outside of space and time? On the other hand, if mathematics is merely a human invention and it has no existence outside our minds, how can we explain the fact that the invention of so many mathematical truths miraculously anticipated questions about the cosmos and human life not even posted until many centuries later? Mario Livio
Friday, May 01, 2009
Mathematic Agnostic
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2 comments:
this is just version of the teleological argument aka argument from intelligent design aka argument from fine tuning, funny how the religious is fond of superfluous repetition.
the argument in summary goes:
EITHER
1. math is a human invention OR
2. math is already there from time immemorial n humans merely discovered it.
the argument is based on assumtion of 1. is false and if 2. is true it proves something.
the ambiguous nature of the argument is akin to fishing out a coin from a sack which is filled with corn, then giving many hints to that person that the sack may be fully filled with coins.
now the problems of teleological arguments are already well documented, so i expect cartwright to go n find out this for himself instead of posting repetitive crap every now n then to "challenge" me n expect me to spoon feed him with answers.
there is a limit to intellectual charity i give to apologists n thats that.
my policy is that if u cannot prove anything in an explicit manner, thank u, n goodbye, don't waste my time.
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster would like to claim that the existence of math as a discovered truth proves that the deity they worship is true.
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