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The Putative value of Mathematics

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Peter Lissaman

The Putative value of Mathematics

I enjoy Tom Johnson's quote:
"He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense."
-John McCarthy, Stanford University mathematician" which reminds of a
much earlier comment,
Rev. Sydney Smith's, (1771-1845) frequently quoted aphorism: "What would
life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors!" I do, in part, agree!
But, but, but, we should remember that Pablo Picasso, Winston Churchill,
Michel-Angelo Buonarotti, Will Shakespeare, Stephen Spielberg, Sigmund
Freud et al. ad infinitum, did make some minor contributions to world
culture while all quite oblivious to, if not contemptuous of, the science
of numbers!! And their talk was NOT total nonsense!

Peter Lissaman
Expertise is not knowing everything, but knowing what to look for.

1454 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe ,New Mexico, 87505, USA
(505) 983-7728

> [Original Message]
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> Date: 3/26/2005 9:00:35 AM
> Subject: Friam Digest, Vol 21, Issue 26
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> 1. DoD Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis Center
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> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 13:55:16 -0800
> From: "Tom Johnson" <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [FRIAM] DoD Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis
> Center
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> FYI. Some of the links are deadends, but this still has some interesting
> tools and documents tucked away.
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> 7. Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis Center [pdf]
> http://www.msiac.dmso.mil/
>
> The Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis Center (MSIAC) assists

the
> Department of Defense (DoD) in meeting its M&S needs "by providing
> scientific, technical, and operational support information and services."
> Through the Help Desk, MSIAC also answers technical inquiries from non-DoD
> customers, who agree to pay for their service beyond the first two hours.
> The group has experience in weapons technology including WMD, information
> management, modeling and simulation, operations analysis, chemical and
> explosive sciences, material sciences, spectrum engineering, wireless
> communication, life sciences, medical informatics and telemedicine,
> transportation systems, and reliability, availability, and
maintainability.
> A wealth of resources are available from this website, including the
> Modeling & Simulation Resource Repository (MSRR), which is described as
"the

> first place to go for answers to M&S" and Glossary of Modeling and
> Simulation (M&S) Terms, information on special topics of interest within
> M&S, and links to related websites. The MSIAC's M&S Journal Online offers
> quarterly articles of interest to the M&S community free of charge. This
> site is also reviewed in the March 25, 2005_NSDL MET Report_. [VF]
>
>
> --jtj
>
> =============================================================
> J. T. Johnson
> Institute for Analytic Journalism
> http://www.analyticjournalism.myblog.com
> 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646 (h)
> http://www.jtjohnson.com [hidden email]
>
> "He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense."
> -John McCarthy, Stanford University mathematician
> =============================================================
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Hywel White

The Putative value of Mathematics

One of my favorite quotes is "Mathematics is OK, but it is better to know
what you're doing" Unfortunately I can't remember the source. Hywel White

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Lissaman [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 10:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [FRIAM] The Putative value of Mathematics

I enjoy Tom Johnson's quote:
"He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense."
-John McCarthy, Stanford University mathematician" which reminds of a
much earlier comment,
Rev. Sydney Smith's, (1771-1845) frequently quoted aphorism: "What would
life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors!" I do, in part, agree!
But, but, but, we should remember that Pablo Picasso, Winston Churchill,
Michel-Angelo Buonarotti, Will Shakespeare, Stephen Spielberg, Sigmund
Freud et al. ad infinitum, did make some minor contributions to world
culture while all quite oblivious to, if not contemptuous of, the science
of numbers!! And their talk was NOT total nonsense!

Peter Lissaman
Expertise is not knowing everything, but knowing what to look for.

1454 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe ,New Mexico, 87505, USA
(505) 983-7728

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