On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:03:40 +0000, Don H wrote:
> "Han de Bruijn" <Han.deBruijn@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:41238$480c4cf1$82a1e228$6554@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>> Virgil wrote:
>>
>> > In article <41368$480700d8$82a1e228$24194@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>> >
>> > Han de Bruijn <Han.deBruijn@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Han de Bruijn wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Mathematics is two things: the ART of creating ideas, and the
>> >>> SCIENCE of applying those ideas to real world material.
>> >>
>> >> Ah, forgot one thing: the DISCIPLINE to _reject_ ideas if it turns
>> >> out that these ideas cannot appliccable. The discipline is the
>> >> hardest part, for groups as well as for individuals.
>> >>
>> >> So Mathematics is three things: the ART of creating ideas, the
>> >> SCIENCE of applying these ideas to real world material, and the
>> >> DISCIPLINE to reject ideas for which it's is evident that they
>> >> cannot be matched to any real world material.
>> >
>> > However, one must be careful in mathematics not to apply that
>> > rejection discipline too soon, as some developments in mathematics
>> > which eventually proved to be of great use in the real world were for
>> > a long time thought to be quite useless in that real world, and even
>> > valued more highly for that reason.
>> >
>> > It is typical of both pure and applied mathematicians to undervalue
>> > the others worth.
>>
>> Uhm, I was thinking along the lines of rejecting Phlogiston and Ether
>> as useless ideas. But suppose these were not mathematical ..
>
> I'd say that maths implies measurement, of space and time, as compare
> with linguistics, or science (knowledge).
>
> Broader than arithmetic, it includes algebra, geometry, navigation, and
> anything which involves counting, measuring, or calculating. Quantity,
> not quality.
>
> To mathematics, the number of executions per year is as valid as the
> number of homeless, housed.
Algebraic topology specifically disclaims interest in mensuration.
--
"The math is easy," said Chaos.
< _Thief of Time_
|
