3 ms·
Love this paragraph: "No scripture is as old as mathematics is. All the other sciences are younger, most by thousands of years. More than history, mathematics
by axiologist 2y ago
Love this paragraph:
"No scripture is as old as mathematics is. All the other sciences are younger, most by thousands of years. More than history, mathematics is the record that humanity is keeping of itself. History can be revised or manipulated or erased or lost. Mathematics is permanent. A² + B² = C² was true before Pythagoras had his name attached to it, and will be true when the sun goes out and no one is left to think of it. It is true for any alien life that might think of it, and true whether they think of it or not. It cannot be changed. So long as there is a world with a horizontal and a vertical axis, a sky and a horizon, it is inviolable and as true as anything that can be thought."
- tocs3 2y agoIt is an interesting read. It ends rather abruptly though. I wonder how his mathematical exploration went (I see he has a couple subsequent articles on the subject I have yet to read [1]). I also see he had a brother who was a computer scientist [2] and a mathematician niece [3]. Now I am sitting here wondering about the meaning of life and wondering what I am going to do next (maybe look for an old textbook I am sure to have around here somewhere). [1] : https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/alec-wilkinson https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/alec-wilkinson [2] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Wilkinson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Wilkinson [3] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amie_Wilkinson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amie_Wilkinson