Post by twetch#3375

1Jj8Ts…sGot Key · twetch

There is no reason to posit "getting closer to a quantity."

Imagine we're talking about English sentences. I can give you a formula to construct a sentence. After each iteration, it contains more words. That doesn't imply it's "approaching" anything.

13bJsM…DNeu Key · twetch

Sentences aren't associated with quantities, so that's an invalid analogy.

What the chain says
Block
662 180
Time
2020-11-20T23:52:45Z
Signer
13bJsMyjiNF21qYTLK5tZizwEovpT6DNeu
App
twetch
Type
post
Content type
text/plain
Name in tx
twetch#3375

Fields the transaction did not carry are omitted. Open the payload to see the bytes as stored.

Signed by 13bJsMyjiNF21qYTLK5tZizwEovpT6DNeu Verified

Replies (19)

1Jj8Ts…sGot Key · twetch
Replying to@13bJsM…DNeu

Sentences can be associated with quantities, sure. Words are just symbols with a different form.

"If you take three apples and add them to three apples, you'll have a total of six apples." That concept can be expressed, "3a + 3a = 6a".

1Jj8Ts…sGot Key · twetch
Replying to@1Jj8Ts…sGot

Mathematical language just uses a different set of symbols. Like sentences, some constructions are valid and some are invalid.

I can write down the symbols "15/0" and say the words "fifteen divided by zero." Doesn't mean that refers to any real quantity.

13bJsM…DNeu Key · twetch
Replying to@1Jj8Ts…sGot

Ultimately people aren't going to agree on what is valid or not. We are talking about ideas, not about real things. I don't think there is such a thing as a "real" quantity.

13bJsM…DNeu Key · twetch
Replying to@13bJsM…DNeu

In math we define things in terms of axioms. That defines what is valid or not. We can have opinions about whether we like a given set of axioms or not but I don't think we have some automatic shared idea on what is valid or not in mathematics.

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1Jj8Ts…sGot Key · twetch
Replying to@13bJsM…DNeu

A theory that doesn't talk about real things, or makes no attempt at connecting fictions to the world, is a bad theory.

Math can talk about real things, and it can say important things about the world.

"Quantity" is a real feature of the universe.

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