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Elsewhere, Nelson has stated that despite the labels Mathematicians use to describe themselves (Platonist, Formalists, Intuitionist) they still seem to have the
by ukj 7y ago
Elsewhere, Nelson has stated that despite the labels Mathematicians use to describe themselves (Platonist, Formalists, Intuitionist) they still seem to have the uncanny ability to agree on the correctness of any particular piece of work, despite their philosophical differences.
I am sure there is a lesson in there somewhere ;)
Biased hint: distributed consensus.
- DATACOMMANDER 7y agoYes, and that’s precisely what makes the nihilist position so silly. (I’m sure the author wouldn’t describe himself as a nihilist, but if the position presented in his essay isn’t nihilism, then what—other than a waste of the reader’s time—can we call it?)
- ukj 7y agoTo call him a nihilist based on his views of Mathematics is a bit too reductionist, I think? All Mathematicians are human, not all humans are Mathematicians. Humans look for (and find) meaning wherever they can.
- DATACOMMANDER 7y agoThe position presented in the essay is mathematical nihilism. I make no comment on him or on his general philosophy, which I thought was obvious from context.
- ukj 7y agoIt was also obvious from the essay that his Mathematical nihilism didn't extend to computation. So it kind of begs the question: What does Mathematics mean to a Computer Scientist? Least we forget that Ed Nelson was a strong proponent of Ultrafinitism ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafinitism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrafinitism )