From: Nigel Jacob (nsjacobus@yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Jul 11 2003 - 08:02:50 MDT
The realtionship between mathematics and the nature of
the Universe is pretty complex ven at a semantic
level.
An interesting question in such a discussion is: how
does the nature of the Universe relate to the
structure of mathematics. If computer science has
taught us anything, it has taught us this: that the
complexity and hence the possibility of implenting an
alogorithm depends on the underlying architecture
(physics) of the system. This notion means that the
ability of sentient creatures to discover (or invent)
mathematics depends not only on the structure of mind,
but also on the kind of physics inherent to the
Universe in question (ie: the implementation)
In other words, some kinds of mathematics are unlikely
to occur (indeed they may be impossible) in certain
universes whose physics make various logical
operations and operators, and hence the mathematics
that depend on them, difficult to implement.
Cheers,
Nigel.
--- "Terry W. Colvin" <fortean1@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Jay asked:> Is mathematics invented or discovered?
> >
> > Is mathematics tied to the current state of the
> Universe (sorta like
> > physics, where a change in certain constants would
> produce a different
> > state) or is it transcendent?
>
> Those are actually more philosophical questions than
> mathematical ones, but
> I'll take a crack at them. Amongst those who discuss
> such things,
> mathematics is generally considered to independent
> of the universe and
> mathematical concepts are discovered, not invented.
> A large part of this is
> because you can basically derive all of math from a
> handful of axioms like
> "if A is greater than B then B is less than A" that
> would be difficult to
> build any universe without.
>
> The real question is: does mathematics have anything
> to do with the
> universe. Mathematics are a powerful tool for
> explaining and predicting what
> we see around us, but it could all just be a
> remarkably good approximation.
> Think about the Bohr model of the atom: electrons in
> circular orbits around
> the nucleus like tiny planets. It turns out to bear
> no resemblance to a real
> atom, but it worked really well for a lot of cases.
> All of physics could be
> like that at the deepest level. And if it isn't, and
> the universe really
> does run on math, why and how does it do that?
>
> Bill
>
>
> --
> Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) <
> fortean1@mindspring.com >
> Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com >
> Home Page: <
>
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html
> >
> Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB *
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=====
__________________________________
Nigel Jacob
nsjacobus@yahoo.com
nsjacob@cyberspace.org (mobile/wireless)
617-331-7231
------------------------------------------------------------
Ad Astra Per Aspera!
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