Posted by Neredbojias on 07/09/05 15:14

With neither quill nor qualm, mbstevens quothed

> Any proper notion of infinity is mathematical. The old 'well, it just
> goes on forever and ever' stuff has been outdated for over a century.
> Mathematics is not physical, no. But mathematics is also the
> counterexample to the notion that the only 'real' things are physical.
> Mathematics and formal systems are the only methods with which we can be
> 'certain' of anything. The moment you bring in physical objects, some
> amount of uncertainly creeps in.

Yes, I like that. I think I quite agree with you on the saliency of the
concept.

> > There is 1, there is 0, and there is what we have now. Nothing more,
> > nothing less, and no infinities.
>
> I have the notion of the predicate calculus augmented by mathematics and
> set theory. That is a lot more than 0 and 1.

And that is reality - or a mathematical representation thereof.

> Sorry, but I couldn't make the least sense out of any of the last two
> paragraphs.

I was merely stating that a lone singularity is nothing if it has no
effect on anything. However, the supposed singularity that spawned the
Big Bang *did* have an effect: to wit, us and our universe and all that
is or ever was. (Ahem, "is" and "was" are time-dependent notions.)
So... out of nothing comes something, or so say the science boys. But
if that is true, it couldn't have been nothing after all unless you
redefine nothing.

--
Neredbojias
Contrary to popular belief, it is believable.

[Back to original message]