>
> On 23 Apr 2015, at 08:37, meekerdb wrote:
>
> 2+2=1 in mod 3 arithmetic.  If you change the game you change what can be
> proven.  You can't keep the old version and assume its proofs apply to the
> new game.
>
> But you haven't changed the game. 2+2=4, still, in normal arithmetic, and
unless you can change THAT you are still in the same "game". (All you've
done is to discover that there's more to the game than you originally
thought.)

I'm a little disappointed. Although I'm of the opinion that maths isn't
made up (based on its unreasonable effectiveness in the physical sciences)
I still expected a slightly more sophisticated level of argument. If that's
the type of argument that supposedly shows maths is made up, it doesn't
look like physicists need fear that the mathematical rug they've been
relying on for the last 300 years will be pulled out from beneath them
anytime soon.

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