4 ms·

How to Convince Me That 2 + 2 = 3

4 points by memorable 4y ago

quickthrower2 4y ago
TRUE and FALSE are the issue here. No such thing. Everything is a belief, or a concept. There is a lot that goes into 2 + 2 = 4. Sounds simple right? But the concepts of counting, addition, symbols to represent numbers, and what those number represent in the real. 2 is a generalization and abstraction for 2 things, but what those things are require our brain to interpret. This might be simply as converting light hitting the eyes into a mental model. For example: The earplugs. Those earplugs don't really exist in any absolute terms. They are a piece of foam. So you might say you have 3 earplugs, and a flotation device for an insect. But ... you might also say it is a gazillion atoms. My religion is "I don't know". </> https://xkcd.com/220/ https://xkcd.com/220/
- psyc 4y ago
  From the same author: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X3HpE8tMXz4m4w6Rz/the-simple-truth https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X3HpE8tMXz4m4w6Rz/the-simple... (In case anyone feels like shitting all over this essay, 47 other extremely learn-ed HNers beat you to it all the way back when Steve Jobs was still alive.)
  - quickthrower2 4y ago
    Yes! Agreed. That is the reason for my xkcd reference.
- karmakaze 4y ago
  Arithmetic is both an axiomatic system as well as having a correspondence with real world counting. If observations and recent experiences illustrated 2+2 = 3 I would think I was dreaming. After a while I'd accept it as how counting works here/now. I wouldn't invalidate 2+2 = 4. OniIt's still true within its own axioms. I'd look for new axioms for the 2+2 = 3 system. If I could make no sense of it. I'd learn to cope and enjoy this new real dreamland. The situation doesn't seem well described. What happens if I put two boys beside two other boys? How similar/exact do they have to be to become 3? Can I just put any 2 humans or animals with 2 others for one to disappear. I don't think I'd be thinking about the consistency of the math--or only so much as it continues my existence. Or maybe only our perceptions of counts is off. I'd put 2 things beside 2 more in a line. Then I'd look at them closely two at a time with blinders and see if I can make out 4 distinct forms. If so there still there I just can't see all 4 at once. Basically do some debugging, what's actually different.
Steven0147 4y ago
hulitu 4y ago
> How to Convince Me That 2 + 2 = 3 Buy a Pentium /s

4 points by memorable 4y ago

TRUE and FALSE are the issue here. No such thing. Everything is a belief, or a concept. There is a lot that goes into 2 + 2 = 4. Sounds simple right? But the concepts of counting, addition, symbols to represent numbers, and what those number represent in the real. 2 is a generalization and abstraction for 2 things, but what those things are require our brain to interpret. This might be simply as converting light hitting the eyes into a mental model. For example: The earplugs. Those earplugs don't really exist in any absolute terms. They are a piece of foam. So you might say you have 3 earplugs, and a flotation device for an insect. But ... you might also say it is a gazillion atoms. My religion is "I don't know". </> https://xkcd.com/220/ https://xkcd.com/220/

psyc 4y ago
From the same author: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X3HpE8tMXz4m4w6Rz/the-simple-truth https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X3HpE8tMXz4m4w6Rz/the-simple... (In case anyone feels like shitting all over this essay, 47 other extremely learn-ed HNers beat you to it all the way back when Steve Jobs was still alive.)
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  Yes! Agreed. That is the reason for my xkcd reference.
karmakaze 4y ago
Arithmetic is both an axiomatic system as well as having a correspondence with real world counting. If observations and recent experiences illustrated 2+2 = 3 I would think I was dreaming. After a while I'd accept it as how counting works here/now. I wouldn't invalidate 2+2 = 4. OniIt's still true within its own axioms. I'd look for new axioms for the 2+2 = 3 system. If I could make no sense of it. I'd learn to cope and enjoy this new real dreamland. The situation doesn't seem well described. What happens if I put two boys beside two other boys? How similar/exact do they have to be to become 3? Can I just put any 2 humans or animals with 2 others for one to disappear. I don't think I'd be thinking about the consistency of the math--or only so much as it continues my existence. Or maybe only our perceptions of counts is off. I'd put 2 things beside 2 more in a line. Then I'd look at them closely two at a time with blinders and see if I can make out 4 distinct forms. If so there still there I just can't see all 4 at once. Basically do some debugging, what's actually different.

Steven0147 4y ago

hulitu 4y ago

> How to Convince Me That 2 + 2 = 3 Buy a Pentium /s