Agreed. Thanks, Jon. --- Frank C. Wimberly 140 Calle Ojo Feliz, Santa Fe, NM 87505
505 670-9918 Santa Fe, NM On Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 8:07 AM Barry MacKichan <[email protected]> wrote: > That is one of the nicest obituaries I’ve seen. > > —Barry > > On 24 Mar 2021, at 19:24, jon zingale wrote: > > From time to time, I find myself reflecting on the wisdom of my old friend > Hywel, and this time in particular, on the anti-representational nature of > his epistemology. Hywel was well known for his aphorisms and most famously > the declaration that: > > "Mathematics is fine, but it is better to know what you are doing". > > Occasionally, I would hear this as a staunch refutation of math envy. Upon > more gracious reflection it occurs to me that there is much to be gained > from substituting, in the aphorism, "Mathematics" for "Representation". > Perhaps, even better would be the declaration that: > > "Representation is fine, but it is better to know directly". > > Hywel would often decry the existence of numbers, to which Frank would > playfully reply, "Hywel, how many mothers do you have"? Hywel's response > was > a tacit smile, his wisdom would need to wait for a more amenable moment. > > Hywel's thought was radically empirical. The *world* itself was the thing > to > know and everything else an, often convenient, illusion. To proceed with > the > discussion, granting mothers, was to already concede a denotational > worldview that was not his own. > > It is perhaps more insightful to reflect on his views on non-units. > Hywelian > epistemology admits no two things the *same*. To discuss neutrinos with > him, > the area of his expertise, was to discuss the experiments themselves, the > blips of particle detectors, and the tubs of baby oil. Relations always > between direct perceptions. To ask him about the exchangeability of protons > was to have a discussion about particle decay. All symmetries, illusory. > > While representationalists find themselves in paradox pondering the source, > whence objects come? Hywel's epistemology finds no such concern and > continues to find purchase out there among the stars. > > > > -- > Sent from: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > > - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam > un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > > - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam > un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ >
- .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
