Re: Yet another time traveling claim
I think this might be where jmpet takes the idea of being "open minded" a bit too far.
I disagree.
Jmpet is certainly not the kind of guy who would believe anything
he is told. He is very good in detecting BS when it is spoken in
English - the language he is fluent in.
The problem is, math is fundamentally different than english. It
isn't just a foreign language such as french or chinese, but a
completely different framework of thought. This is where our
misunderstanding with Jmpet is coming from.
Perhaps if I make the differences between Math and English clearer,
we will be able to understand each other better (Jmpet, I hope you
are reading this):
English is a language guided by intuition and common sense. It is
not meant to be an exact language. While english words *do* have
concise dictionary definitions, their actual usage may vary. And
even the "concise" definitions can be fuzzy.
For example, we all know what the dictionary definition of "cat"
is. But in actual usage, "cat" may refer to many different things:
A tubby cat, a lion ("great cat"), or even a drawing of cat. It can
also be used as a metaphore (as in "cat music") or in poetic ways
(as in "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Suess).
Or consider the word "small". We all know that a Cadillac is not a
small car, and Volkswagen Beetle is a small car. But where, exactly,
should we draw the line between small cars and large cars? And while
most of us will agree that a mouse is a small animal, a microbiologist
might have a different opinion on that subject...
That's how english works. That's how all ordinary languages work. They
sacrifice a certain amount of absolute logical rigidity, for the benifit
fluent communications. In daily life, this is an excellent solution. But
when you want to make clear, rigorous, statements which can be tested
in the laboratory, something stronger is needed.
That's where math come in. Math is a language in which you ALWAYS mean
EXACTLY what you are saying. No metaphores. No fuzzy definitions. Once
a mathematical concept is defined, it must be used in exactly the same
way every time. It is this strictness and absolute logic which makes
math so different from any ordinary language. And it is this strictness
which makes math the prefered language in which scientific theories are
formulated. Strict well-defined statements can be tested for validity
(note that this does not make them, a-priori, valid). Fuzzy statements
cannot.
Now, it *is* possible to write math statements in plain english. But
remember, even when stated in english, it is still a well-defined,
rigorous statement. Every word must be understood in the most literal
way. Because even though the words are in english, the expressed IDEA
is still as concise and precise as it was in it's old form.
Remember our example of "this car is going at a speed of 400 pounds"?
In english, this may be an acceptable statement, because english allows
for metaphores. But as a math statement it is unteneable, because speed
simply isn't measured in pounds.
