Warpfish Stories

Geeks don't have social lives, because, we spent a good chunk of what free time we had in University considering questions like this:

Is Mathematics Discovered Or Invented?

I, personally, am in the 'constructed/invented' camp, though I'll save everybody from the essay stating my reasons why. (8-) And for those who are just willing to dismiss the whole thread after reading the first response to the post -- I don't believe that argument about logical positivism holds, since it completely discounts the fact that people usually find applications for ideas/answers long after the ideas themselves were confirmed. Remember, in the mid 1800s, the idea that a moving magnet passing through a set of coils made of a conducting material would generate electricity was just a cute parlour trick.

And look where we are now.

Besides, whether or not an answer is worth having is utterly irrelevant to what an answer is, which is probably the biggest fallacy of the logical positivism argument proposed here.

To be fair though to the poster: I think the only real application this has on the "real world" is the idea of challenging your perceptions, by thinking about things you wouldn't normally think about, and by considering correlations you wouldn't normally consider. And, thus, maybe coming up with some new ideas in your own life. Or, even if there's nothing here, applying the exercise to other parts of your life that, up until now, have either been simply understood or even taboo.

So, even if you don't give a damn about the fundamental nature of mathematics, I believe it's worthwhile to challenge the fundamental nature of other things from time to time. The strongest faith is the faith that always questions itself. It's paradoxical, but, so are human beings -- it would make sense that our innate natures be wrapped up in our view of the universe.

Tags: interesting links, science