Why can't grounding from language, syntax, musical patterns, and other non-visual forms of grounding play a role in mathematical thinking?
Why can't grounding in the form of abstract concepts learned from hours of thinking about math and its transformations play an important role. Because we humans are such multimedia machines, probably most of us who are sighted have at least some visual associations tainting most of our concepts -- including most of our mathematical concepts -- at least somewhere in the gen/comp hierarchies representing them and the memories and patterns that include them. I have always considered myself a visual thinker, and much of my AGI thinking is visual, but if you ask me what is 2 + 2, it is a voice I hear in my head that says 4, not a picture. It is not necessary that visual reasoning be the main driving force in reasoning involving a particular mathematical thought. To a certain extent math is a language, and it would be surprising if linguistic patterns and behaviors -- or at least patterns and behaviors partially derived from them -- didnt play a large role in mathematical thinking. Edward W. Porter Porter & Associates 24 String Bridge S12 Exeter, NH 03833 (617) 494-1722 Fax (617) 494-1822 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: a [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 3:40 PM To: agi@v2.listbox.com Subject: Re: [agi] The Grounding of Maths Mathematician-level mathematics must be visually grounded. Without groundedness, simplified and expanded forms of expressions are the same, so there is no motive to simplify. If it is not visually grounded, then it will only reach the level of the top tier computer algebra systems (full of bugs, unsimplified expressions, etc.). ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?&; ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=53170101-47f9f6
