I shouldn't mind not being taken seriously. It's less pressure. But I'd be interested what you find objectionable about the question. I can only imagine you considered it to be out of place, context or in some sense rude. But to me it's one of the most profound issues I keep coming back to. Mathematical relationships are arguably the purest kinds of unconstructed concepts available to us. They appear to exist independently of us and our awarenss of them. Where did they come from, if not from God? The idea that such laws can just exist of themselves and require no explanation seems unsatisfying somehow. An "inch" on the other hand, is straightforwardly constructed, and I can't find the enthusiasm to press the point, when it seems so obvious. So I'm more interested in Pi than an inch, hence the abrupt turn.
slimboyfat
JoinedPosts by slimboyfat
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168
Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism
by slimboyfat inin the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.
i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).
but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.
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Did man really go to the moon?
by atomant inl have researched this subject and come to the conclusion that no we didn't.what do others think?.
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slimboyfat
Not just the moon. I met a man on Sauchiehall Street who's been to other planets. He gave me a booklet. I've not read it yet.
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168
Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism
by slimboyfat inin the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.
i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).
but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.
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slimboyfat
How do you explain Pi without God? -
168
Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism
by slimboyfat inin the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.
i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).
but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.
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slimboyfat
An inch of what?
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168
Where to draw the line: how Platonism haunts our discourse and the search for exorcism
by slimboyfat inin the discussion about race i adopted a position i am not entirely comfortable with.
i think there is a sense in which it is useful to distinguish categories of description that can be fruitfully defended (apples and bananas) and those that cannot (caucasian or other racial descriptions for example).
but there is a more fundamental sense in which i believe that everything is socially constructed, every single line you can think of.
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slimboyfat
Somehow we're back on the topic of various perspectives on the earth's shape! But the important point is that we are capable of seeing the same thing differently.
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315
Flat earth vs round earth
by Jrjw inmy brother has been talking about the earth being flat and some big conspiracy going on to make people beieve otherwise.
what are people's thoughts on this?.
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slimboyfat
It depends on how you draw lines in reality, like I said here:
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315
Flat earth vs round earth
by Jrjw inmy brother has been talking about the earth being flat and some big conspiracy going on to make people beieve otherwise.
what are people's thoughts on this?.
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slimboyfat
Things appear differently from different perspectives. How you describe something depends on how you look at it and the reason for the description. The trouble is we simply cannot see things from a perspective that is not our own. For some people this inability to see from other perspectives leads them to conclude that other perspectives in some sense are not real or that they are inferior in some essential respecf.
Cofty you illustrated this the other day when you said about someone singing in a Quaker meeting:
That must have been agonisingly uncomfortable.
I guess what you meant to say is that for you it would have been "agonisingly uncomfortable". For people who are accustomed, and open to it, in fact welcome it, then obviously it is not "agonisingly uncomfortable" for them.
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slimboyfat
Moderators might delete the thread for you if you think you’ve revealed too much. -
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slimboyfat
I think the point is that most of science is about testing ideas and ruling things out. Like in medicine, "I wonder if this treatment will cure something". 99 times out of a hundred, or more, the answer is no. Boring, but reliable and sipcientific. I think that's the idea.
I also think the point of the cartoon is that, when properly applied, in the scientific process the data speaks for itself and gives a clear answer.
I think this is a simplistic view, because data cannot speak for itself. All data is selected by humans and given context and meaning by humans. In other words data are part of the social construction of knowledge that cannot be reduced to pure "facts", whatever we imagine such might be.
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slimboyfat
There's a puzzle. Where is 1 hour from Oban and 2 hours from Glasgow. If you hadn't said south I would have said Fort William. There's probably a computer programme that can solve a puzzle like that. Depends on how accurate the input is however.
Ardrishaig? In other words the complete middle of nowhere. I think I drove through it once.