On Sat, Apr 17, 2004 at 01:03:03AM -0700, Hal Finney wrote:
> How about Tegmark's idea that all mathematical structures exist, and we're
> living in one of them? Or does that require an elderly mathematician,
> a piece of parchment, an ink quill, and some scribbled lines on paper in
> order for us to be here?
That wouldn't quite do. Just simulating this planet takes a lot of hardware.
Just because you can write down Navier-Stokes it doesn't mean rivulets,
streams and oceans spring into being. A little more work is required for
that.
> It seems to me that mathematics exists without the mathematician.
To me it seems the opposite is true. As long as it's an unfalsifyable
prediction, there's not much point to pursue it further.
> And since computer science is a branch of mathematics, programs and
> program runs exist as well without computers.
While I'm open to existence of a metalayer, built from information or
otherwise, I'm very much opposed to mysticism.
--
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a>
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Received on Sat Apr 17 2004 - 04:30:27 PDT