Re: The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences

Posted by Russ Abbott on Apr 26, 2009; 8:21pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/The-Unreasonable-Effectiveness-of-Mathematics-in-the-Natural-Sciences-tp2714601p2719284.html

Mathematics is effective because there are regularities in nature. (Is that tautological/true/trivial?)

Assuming it's at least true, it seems to me that the real question is why there are regularities in nature? Once one grants that there are, then it would seem obvious that a language that can describe them will be effective.

Also, assuming it's at least true, another question is how do those regularities come about?  That's a primary concern of my "Reductionist blind spot" paper.

-- Russ

On Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 12:41 PM, Owen Densmore <[hidden email]> wrote:

On Apr 26, 2009, at 10:16 AM, Steve Smith wrote:

Well said/observed David,  I too am a Lakoff/Johnson/Nunez fan in this matter.

While I am quite enamored of mathematics and it's fortuitous application to all sorts of phenomenology, Physics being somehow the most "pure" in an ideological sense, I've always been suspicious of the conclusion that "the Universe *is* Mathematics".

OK: Show how it is not, then.

This discussion also begs the age-old question of whether we are "inventing" or "discovering" mathematics.

No it doesn't.  We are discovering it.  We are slowly becoming wise. We are uncovering the Structure of Everything.  We are peaking under the Rug.  God is one smart dude.

Similarly, it revisits the question of whether discoveries in mathematics portend discoveries in Physics (or other, "messier" phenomenological observations).

They are independent.  That's the wonder to which the subject refers.

  -- Owen


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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