jgill

Conversations between those having interests in physics but not deep knowledge go on and on, and can be entertaining. Even arguments between actual sc...

Salient points, and look how long this conversation has gone on. On the other hand, knowing what it is like to be be another human is another matter. ...

Especially since the "observer" is a machine. :cool: nice summary. Thanks. Would you consider infinitesimals metaphysical?

When physicists speculate in the area of quantum mysticism, trying to find a real-world interpretation of what they observe rather than simply "doing ...

The subject of this thread has an existential interpretation. If one creates meaning in their life by engaging in certain projects wholeheartedly, the...

You mean one-dimensional? You might be surprised. :cool:

Don't expect much. :smile: I retired over twenty years ago, but I still explore very limited and somewhat elementary areas of math and write notes as ...

Is it worth the effort? :roll:

Bill Clinton clarified the Law of Identity in his unique way: "It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the—if he—if ‘is’ means is and n...

Intelligent design is a science? To answer the question posed in the title of the thread . . . with utmost caution. If a philosopher wishes to engage ...

Yep. I'll trust those reputable physicists who doubt his claims.

I suspect the official inflation rate will not gibe with my personal expenditures. Virtually everything I have bought recently has cost 15-30% more th...

This is probably as good as it gets: Problems with Geometric Unity. I was a math prof, but not a physicist. I had not heard of GU, so thanks for the t...

I think you are talking about Algorithmic Information Theory rather than mathematics in general, where your enquiry makes little sense.

Not deep. :roll:

I can't decide if this is deep or shallow. :chin:

Of course, but the point was the opinion that the use of such sequences in IQ tests is invalid, which I question. I don't think sequence puzzles are n...

Maybe you could provide a citation for this assessment. :chin:

The sound of two hands clapping :smile:

I've been stumped by brain teasers that have you try to determine the next number in a sequence, so, no, not necessarily random. This is another math ...

Novelists like Hemingway write spell-binding stories that could be considered philosophical. I think you are on to something.

Back in my meteorology days one approach was to measure small changes in atmospheric pressure. But not a guarantee of randomness.

The sound of one hand clapping . . .

At the age of 84, no. I'm relatively healthy other than arthritis and a really bad back, but when I have needed medical attention Medicare has treated...

So many posts on this thread. Here's a question for those who are entranced with the notion math should begin with continua: From the OP is there a co...

I read Jaynes' book years ago and was very favorably impressed with his arguments. We all talk to ourselves from time to time and it's easy to imagine...

You have a container in which there are ten black balls and five white balls. You reach in a pluck out a ball. What is the probability it is black? Wh...

This is nonsense and probably Feynman at his best at satire. :cool:

That's a whopper of a hypothesis! I can't get beyond it. :roll:

That's true to some extent. I was in a small international group that met periodically at various universities, and when we published a piece I would ...

You could narrow the discussion to whether college philosophy departments have a future. Where I taught that department was some time ago folded into ...

If asked the same question about mathematicians, I'm not sure how I would answer. It's tempting to cite academia and graduate degrees, but there may b...

What you would think is wrong: Fermat's Last Theorem However, the world of mathematics is so immense and in part has become so abstract that one mathe...

You write very well, but for those of us who have limited capacities for reflecting and processing it might help to break apart and separate very leng...

Is the "we" a branch of government? Or any other coercive agent?

You're probably correct. And if he reads this thread there is no danger he will show up.

All very illuminating. But what of the OP? :chin:

2={0,{0}} , 3={2,0,{0}}={0,{0},{0,{0}}} , etc. from the Peano Axioms through set theory. But there are other ways. Just a passing comment.

I've worked with fixed points for a long time, mostly recreational now, but a few years ago one of my theorems was applied to decision making, specifi...

I just received a spiritual message from Henry Fonda. He suggests you move on to Kirk Douglas, as Kirk feels neglected. :smile:

:lol:

As Nash demonstrated fixed-point theory is useful in game theory. Brouwer's fixed-point theorem was proven indirectly, with no simple path to its valu...

He's referred to as a British philosopher several times, and it appears he makes his living in his area of transhumanism. He seems to deal with ethica...

Topological ideas don't necessarily have a quantitative context. The concept of what continuous means in continuous transformations has been discussed...

Set theory and foundation people certainly appreciate your perspective. And there are numerous examples of statements - conjectures - that can't be pr...

The benefit of doubt in the context of babble is inconsequential.

Virtual particles are described as temporary excitations of underlying quantum fields that appear in computations but are not detectable by experiment...

Hmm. Maybe. Think of yourself at the center (0,0) of a circle of radius R in the plane. One point on the circumference is at (R,0) and the other point...

Not quite. It has the respect of most in the math community, but most of those think they will never come up against that roadblock. Me included. It h...

{ } = the empty set = philosophy? :smile: