tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post7829684926076561926..comments2023-05-10T08:55:47.701-07:00Comments on Richard Carrier Blogs: Our Mathematical UniverseRichard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-13147678811453141912007-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:002007-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:00Robert O'Brien:I'm sorry, but...do you actually ha...<B>Robert O'Brien:</B><BR/><BR/>I'm sorry, but...do you actually have an argument?Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-36765950715428565252007-11-07T23:06:00.000-08:002007-11-07T23:06:00.000-08:00I am familiar with Dr. Howell's article, and I agr...I am familiar with Dr. Howell's article, and I agree with him, Aristotle redivivus. There are many things in mathematics that need not be so clean, such as Cauchy Integral Theorem from complex analysis.<BR/><BR/>I am not impressed by the scientific "credentials" you offer, and given your intoxication with Jesus Mythicism, I am not even impressed by your relevant credentials.O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07532848760781346921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-3453703944509909982007-11-06T15:17:00.000-08:002007-11-06T15:17:00.000-08:00Blue Devil Knight: I am sympathetic to this perspe...<B>Blue Devil Knight:</B> <I>I am sympathetic to this perspective, but I wonder about the claim that mathematics is 'just another language.' For one, there are a lot of differences between ordinary language and mathematics.</I><BR/><BR/>I describe the nature of those differences in my book <I>Sense and Goodness without God</I> (see "mathematics" in the index) and in my online articles on Steiner Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-55810178510405649292007-10-27T05:36:00.000-07:002007-10-27T05:36:00.000-07:00RC,You have no idea how much of this "we have to h...RC,<BR/><BR/>You have no idea how much of this "we have to have an imaginary foundation or reality doesn't exist" crap I get on my site. "The earth doesn't have a foundation! It floats in space! Therefore we can't walk on it!" These theolosophers are effing hysterical about every little misunderstanding and hairsplitting non-problem they can possibly scrape from the bottom of the epistemic Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479224236264150172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-5672770036691016152007-10-25T23:40:00.000-07:002007-10-25T23:40:00.000-07:00Simple, complex, how do you count the sample space...Simple, complex, how do you count the sample space of ideas?Turtle Dove Machinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16229419515446093771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-13630334364963463522007-10-24T07:34:00.000-07:002007-10-24T07:34:00.000-07:00Michael said:but it's more like your taylor makes ...Michael said:<BR/><I>but it's more like your taylor makes a suit designed for ewoks and it turns out to perfectly fit the next ape species we discover in the amazon...<BR/><BR/>complex numbers were not made to describe anything in the real world, then we found they do (quantum mechanics etc); neither was non-euclidian geometry (then we got special and general relativity)...<BR/><BR/>But the Blue Devil Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12045468316613818510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-39719274786024152632007-10-24T07:00:00.000-07:002007-10-24T07:00:00.000-07:00The taylor anology is funny...but it's more like y...The taylor anology is funny...but it's more like your taylor makes a suit designed for ewoks and it turns out to perfectly fit the next ape species we discover in the amazon...<BR/><BR/>or... you design a universe according to your personal subjective notions of interior design or aesthetics and it turns out to be the one we live in...<BR/><BR/>I mean, complex numbers were not made to describe Mike Wiesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06600953803380085400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-31646617720590964732007-10-20T12:52:00.000-07:002007-10-20T12:52:00.000-07:00DFB: one of the best comments I have seen on any b...DFB: one of the best comments I have seen on any blog, anywhere. A wonderful quip.<BR/><BR/>I am sympathetic to this perspective, but I wonder about the claim that mathematics is 'just another language.' For one, there are a lot of differences between ordinary language and mathematics. The axiomatization of mathematics is one major difference. Also, true claims in mathematics have a kind of Blue Devil Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12045468316613818510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-91737256025161586672007-10-16T08:50:00.000-07:002007-10-16T08:50:00.000-07:00DFB: Well said.Pikemann Urge: My question is simpl...<B>DFB:</B> Well said.<BR/><BR/><B>Pikemann Urge:</B> <I>My question is simply: are physical laws fundamentally pure?</I><BR/><BR/>I don't know what you mean by "pure." Is that a euphemism for "simple"? Broken down into component parts they are simple, but that's simply because we broke them down into simple parts. In practice, all those parts are operating as a complex whole.<BR/><BR/><B>Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-8177931923319913752007-10-12T02:27:00.000-07:002007-10-12T02:27:00.000-07:00I need to understand something, Richard, if you do...I need to understand something, Richard, if you don't mind going over some ground once again. My question is simply: are physical laws <I>fundamentally</I> pure?<BR/><BR/>Now, forget the real world. Let's pretend we have our universe with only two bodies, each about the mass of a wrecking ball and made of pure carbon or silicon or whatever doesn't evaporate - nothing else happening. Will those Pikemann Urgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02587558012877707537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-72504409347687529662007-10-11T09:16:00.000-07:002007-10-11T09:16:00.000-07:00So, let me get this straight. Some humans designed...So, let me get this straight. Some humans designed a language in order to more accurately describe the universe, and then other humans are in awe of the fact that this language describes the universe so accurately. Okay. Got it. It seems similar to marvelling at how wondrous it is that my new suit fits me so well after it comes back from the tailor.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate you pointing out how DFBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16624603521338516156noreply@blogger.com