On 6/27/07, Glen E. P. Ropella <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
<snip>
p.s. My argument above does not make the word "mathematician" useless by
ascribing it to _everyone_ (as Bristol did when implying that every thing is emergent). It is only ascribed to those who attempt to form rigorous conceptions of the things around them and use those conceptions to interact with the world.
You are correct, your definition of a mathematician does not include everyone; however it does include everyone you are likely to meet on the street. Those who do not "attempt to form rigorous conceptions of the things around then and use those conceptions to interact the world" often have difficulty getting out of their houses because (i) they do not (by definition) have a conception of where their front-doors are and (ii) even if they do find them they cannot (again by the above definition) work out how to interact with them. Robert
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