On 12/20/2013 3:28 PM, LizR wrote:
On 21 December 2013 08:12, Stephen Paul King <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Dear Jason,
I think it was you that wrote (to me):
"I was not defending that view, but pointing out how ridiculous it would be
to
suppose mathematical truth does not exist before it is found by someone
somewhere."
I am trying to get some thought going. Why is it so ridiculous, exactly?
If there
exists a mathematical theorem that requires a countable infinity of
integers to
represent, no finite version can exist of it, in other words, can its proof
be
found? What is it that "makes it true"? If we remove the possibility of
ever proving
a theorem, what is that theorem's possible truth value?
The maths that describes the behaviour of physical systems must be true whether anyone
knows about it or not, so long as those physical systems continue to operate in the same
manner. For example the inverse square law was true for billions of years before life
evolved on Earth, and for billions more before Newton discovered it, as can be shown by
observing distant galaxies.
The inverse square law is true in Platonia. In the real world it's just a very good
approximation.
Brent
It also seems unlikely that simple arithmetic didn't work until Ug the caveman (or
woman) discovered it. The big bang seems to have done nucleosynthesis by adding
particles together quite happily when presumably there was no one around to know about it.
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