A good friend send a message on Facebook regarding some of the
fundamental flaws of Mathematics. He wanted my opinion. He got
far more than he bargained for... and I said more than I
expected to say. I share it with you. It may be confusing right
now, but once I am finished pulling *it* all together, this will
all be very simple and instantly understandable to a
preschooler. on up. It's only a tiny part of it, compressed and
overexplained and messy.
My thoughts:
Mathematics is a useful, beautiful, expressive language. I do
not understand it, beyond what I learned up through 9th or 10th
grade, and a smattering of various understandings I've picked up
since that point to the present time.
Mathematics can describe details and simplifies so many
processes and I am quite grateful for those who explore the
depths of its possibilities. I use their work and stand on the
shoulders of giants, whose shoes I may never fill.
BUT:
ALSO:
THIS:
There are concepts and truths that are difficult to express in
ANY language.
Mathematics, Spoken Languages, Programming, Written language,
''flat'' art, 3D art, Science, sRelationships, Music...
There is a ''something'' that many try to express in every
language.
And it is a difficult something to express in any language.
I don't believe that it is impossible. That is my assumption:
That, indeed, nothing is impossible. Well, not true. Nothing is
both possible AND impossible.
But quickly back to math:
There is a basic flaw in most current mathematics, although it
is captured in other languages:
The flaws are these:
We assume that WE are not included in our observations.
It is not necessary to have a quantum mysticism about it, which
is something I had for many years - the allure of the Focal
Point, where past meets future and in meets out.
Even when we do include ourselves, we do it with the assumption
that we are not connected to all things. This is where I start
to sound mystic but I don't intend to. It is quite, I believe,
literal.
Another flaw is the attempt to digitize everything. Just because
some things can be quantized, (broken into packets) - it is
believed that ALL things can be quantized. But try turning
simple fractions into decimal numbers and the flat becomes
quickly apparent. Turning roundness (PI) into a straight line is
VERY useful but, will forever be inaccurate.
Because a point and a line are impossible things. Which is
another one of my conclusions and assumptions about the basis of
reality.
They are all loops where the beginnings and ends are forever
connective, moving and alive.
They must be entered into the calculations for mathematics to
ultimately be successful in describing all things.
Excess comfort with paradoxes. Too much detail and not enough
broadness. And too much broadness without enough detail to feed
the broad conclusions. Sets that have fixed columns instead of
columns that are as flexible as rows are.
To describe reality properly, our tools are not robust enough
and our rules are too complex but also too simple.
The truth is hidden in the gaps... in the things we avoid. In
the things we are NOT looking at.
There is a need both both: the need for detailed discovery but
also a need for a broadness that is not dismissive of religion
or other aspects of the human experience.
An over dependance on LOGIC which was invented several THOUSAND
years ago.
We are an extension of the ancient Greek culture.
We need more Plato.
We followed the right guy for several thousand years but now we
need more Plato.
Pattern matching is the key. Spot the differences with calm
awareness will solve many problems.
As you can see, I have a book in me.
And a lot to say.
In short, Ahmad:
Everybody is correct.
-Kenneth Udut, 06-23-2013 11:34pm
PS by the time I am done, this will all be much more complete
and much simpler. I have much more work to do, but this is a
small sampling of the direction I am going in, right or wrong or
both or neither or n/a or all of the above.
