tom abeles wrote:
>
> Collapse in the mathematical sense can be clearly defined by the
> changing conditions in a set of equations.
>
> collapse in other areas lacks the clarity.
[snip]
> thoughts?
It seems to me the other way around: "Collapse"
can be applied to mathematics only metaphorically,
like "charm" to elementary particles of Galilean
physics. *Any* mathematical concept can be
called a lot of things, to wit:
I am not a mathematician (I'm not sure whether anyone
except Prof. Norm Levitt is???), but I can understand
the *reduction* of an n-dimensional matrix to an
m < n -dimensional matrix (or, when n=0, a scalar),
or the computation of a derivative (which is in
another sense a "collapsed" form in that information
is lost), but none of these objects of thought
in any way compares to, e.g., the story line of
the film "Das Boot", where a submarine crew endures
the terror that the hull of their vessel will
*collapse* and crush them. Statues of Lenin and
Stalin collapse (or are pushed...)
in "liberated Iron Curtain countries",
and economies undergo transformations which
entail massive diminution of human life prospects,
but, to paraphrase Bishop Berkeley: Does a tree
*collapse* in the forest if there is no person to
witness?
Metaphores are fine on a full stomach (I came a bit close
to experiencing pulmonary collapse last weekend when I had
a bad attack of asthma, but I'm not sure what the
most elegant mathematical representation of it
would have been).
And Jay wrote:
> There is no democracy on a cruise ship, but people seem to like 'em.
How about "both / and": People like most a cruise ship
with *optional* democracy, i.e., with freedom to
choose when they want, and security always (except
when they want to take a risk, and then only until they
hit the alarm button).
\brad mccormick
--
Mankind is not the master of all the stuff that exists, but
Everyman (woman, child) is a judge of the world.
Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
914.238.0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua, NY 10514-3403 USA
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