News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on What is it like to understand advanced mathematics?. Parent comment

Re:What is it like to understand advanced mathematics? by pcmaffey on Saturday August 12, 2017 @01:30PM (#14998879)
What if you're an apple vendor and someone gives you $5 bucks and an empty bucket, with the expectation that you're going to fill that bucket full of apples and give it back to them?

In the moment where you have an empty bucket and a debt of apples, I'd call that a bucket of negative apples.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What is it like to understand advanced mathematics? by KGIII on Saturday August 12, 2017 @01:39PM (#14998914)
No, you'd have a bucket devoid of apples, until you put apples into it. Then, you'd have fewer apples than you had before.

You can call it negative apples, if you want. However, it's just an empty bucket. ;-)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What is it like to understand advanced mathematics? by spaceseaman on Saturday August 12, 2017 @03:21PM (#14999510)
It's hilarious watching people struggle with this. The whole point is that you have to think about it - it depends on philosophy.

In other words, it's all in your head. A real, physical, "negative apple" does not exist in this world. Only the human philosophical concept of "owing someone apples" or similar such things. That's the guys' point. It doesn't matter whether you can bring representations of negative apples because those all depend on a philosophical bedrock.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What is it like to understand advanced mathematics? by vinchuco on Saturday August 12, 2017 @04:45PM (#14999868)
β€œIt is not the wind that moves, it is not the flag that moves, it is your minds that move.”
[ Parent | on HN ]