On 1/23/2014 5:46 PM, LizR wrote:
On 24 January 2014 14:40, meekerdb <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
wrote:
I'd say a finitist form of arithmetic is a good description of some aspects
of
reality - but don't try to add raindrops or build Hilbert's Hotel.
OK. So are there some fundamental aspects of reality that can't be described by
mathematics?
Probably not. Or it might depend on how complete a description is required (notice that
not all true sentences of arithmetic can be described). Mathematics is just axiomatized
language, a way of making sentences definite and avoiding self-contradicition. There
might be something that can only be described fuzzily; poets have lots of candidates.
Maybe consciousness is one. But it's like asking is there something science can't
investigate. Maybe, but we won't know without trying.
Brent
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Everything List" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
