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What is mathematics? Really?

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Nick Thompson

What is mathematics? Really?

Anybody,

I have Hersh's book, now, and have been reading around in it. It brought to mind the following question.

How is it that we know that, If A belongs to B, and B belongs to C, than A belongs to C. Does it come from our experience? Or does it come from our language, or neural organization, or something else about us. Or, as Rosen might have it, it is the result of mapping the latter upon the former in some way.

Around the turn of the centrury, there were some people who argued that the answer to all the previous questions was No. Mathematics, logic, etc. stood between thse two other ways of knowing, which were identified with realism and idealism. These folks (possibliy including russell) believed that math belong to a short list of mental thingies that were "neutral" to the distinction between realism and idealism.

can anybody remember what these family of neutral things was called or who called them "neutral"?

Nick

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,

Clark University ([hidden email])

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FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Nick Thompson

Re: What is mathematics? Really?

Sorry, as usual, I buggered my question:

"Does anybody know who it was or from what point of view they were speaking when they referred to mathematics as "neutral" between idealism and realism"

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,

Clark University ([hidden email])

----- Original Message -----

From: [hidden email]

To: [hidden email]

Sent: 7/27/2008 1:28:59 PM

Subject: RE: [FRIAM] What is mathematics? Really?

The answers is that it depends.

The answer is NO, unless C has a gun pointed at A, then the answer is YES.

;-) - Jan

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Nicholas Thompson
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 8:36 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [FRIAM] What is mathematics? Really?

Anybody,

I have Hersh's book, now, and have been reading around in it. It brought to mind the following question.

How is it that we know that, If A belongs to B, and B belongs to C, than A belongs to C. Does it come from our experience? Or does it come from our language, or neural organization, or something else about us. Or, as Rosen might have it, it is the result of mapping the latter upon the former in some way.

Around the turn of the centrury, there were some people who argued that the answer to all the previous questions was No. Mathematics, logic, etc. stood between thse two other ways of knowing, which were identified with realism and idealism. These folks (possibliy including russell) believed that math belong to a short list of mental thingies that were "neutral" to the distinction between realism and idealism.

can anybody remember what these family of neutral things was called or who called them "neutral"?

Nick

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,

Clark University ([hidden email])

Steve Smith

Re: What is mathematics? Really?

Nick -

"Does anybody know who it was or from what point of view they were speaking when they referred to mathematics as "neutral" between idealism and realism"

Just to elaborate on this, it is my understanding that: Mathematics is for people who are bad at gambling !

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org

Phil Henshaw-2

Re: What is mathematics? Really?

Yea, math is for people who are bad at gambling, but who also prefer not to ‘cheat’ by watching to see what’s happening directly…

It’s a guesser’s tool, and in a few kinds of situations you don’t need to guess. You can “sneak a peak” and directly see. Like when all the resources for an entire self-adjusting system produce progressive diminishing returns for increasing effort at the same time. You don’t need to guess what’s happening. It’s as easy to conclude what’s happening as when seeing the hood of your car crumpling as you feel the coincident jerk of unexpected sudden deceleration. You clearly running into something is the simple answer. The math can’t represent an environment, though, till after the fact, and that marks the difference between the tools of guessers and observers.

Phil

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Steve Smith
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 9:26 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] What is mathematics? Really?

Nick -

"Does anybody know who it was or from what point of view they were speaking when they referred to mathematics as "neutral" between idealism and realism"

Just to elaborate on this, it is my understanding that: Mathematics is for people who are bad at gambling !