Nick, Some nebulous one, for sure.
Grant Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 28, 2015, at 1:34 PM, Nick Thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > > Grant, > > What is the implicit definition of “art” you are running with there? > > Nick > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology > Clark University > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > > From: Friam [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Grant Holland > Sent: Monday, December 28, 2015 1:51 AM > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]>; > Owen Densmore <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Physicists and Philosophers Debate the Boundaries of > Science | Quanta Magazine > > Mathematics already went through this "crisis of confidence" in the latter > half of the 19th century when Lobachevsky and Riemann came up with > alternative, non-Euclidean, geometries. The issue that forced this new look > at the soul of mathematics was, I believe, the verifiability - consistency, > actually - of Euclid's fifth postulate with respect to his other four. This > was followed historically by the works of Dedekind and Cantor who engaged > naked logic to expose a number of counter-intuitive "truths" of mathematics. > The entire hoopla was addressed by Hilbert's program in an attempt to put the > matter to rest for once and for all. However, the work of Russell and > Whitehead to further Hilbert's program by developing arithmetic from > Hilbertian foundations was eventually stymied by Godel, whose work was > generalized by Turing. > > The result of all of this, according to my understanding, is that mathematics > ceased to see itself as a "seeker after the true nature of the universe" (as > do both science (which physics thinks it owns) and philosophy even today); > and began to see itself as a "constructor of logically consistent models, > regardless of their verifiability". Verifiability was dropped from the > program of pure abstract mathematics, and was left to the "impure" pursuits > of physicists, philosophers and applied mathematicians. > > I'm sure someone on this list can set straight my recollections of > mathematical history. But I do hold to the point that mathematics addressed, > and "kind of" resolved, its own crisis of confidence over its assumed need > for verifiability about a century ago. It's conclusion? Forget verifiability > and pursue pure mathematics as art - not science. > > Should physics give up its similar insistence on verification (seeking "the > truth") - and join the ranks as just another branch of abstract mathematics? > > Grant > > > On 12/26/15 9:44 PM, Owen Densmore wrote: > Abs fab! > > But amazingly, there are fantastic young grad students doing the impossible > in this field .. testing at the Planck limits. Often using the universe > itself to test its own theories. > > One of my favorites is a stream of matter flowing towards a void in space > which suggests "gravity on the other side" .. i.e. a multiverse lump hidden > from us but not by gravity. > > Why is there Something, not Nothing gets to be fascinating when the big bang > was sparked by less than a tea-spoon of matter, or so it is thought nowadays. > > -- Owen > > On Sat, Dec 26, 2015 at 8:59 PM, Tom Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > Something to keep you occupied until New Years Day. > > https://www.quantamagazine.org/20151216-physicists-and-philosophers-debate-the-boundaries-of-science/ > > =================================== > Tom Johnson - Inst. for Analytic Journalism > Santa Fe, NM > SPJ Region 9 Director > [email protected] 505-473-9646 > =================================== > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > > > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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