Re:Brouwer–Hilbert controversy
by BeetleB on Thursday November 08, 2018 @11:02AM
(#18407160)
>That essay is a significant source of belief in the myth of inherent mathematical truth, but it has flaws and is far from proof.
I don't know where this characterization of "proof" comes from. It is merely an essay, and not intended as anything other than one. When I read it years ago, I did not get the sense that Wigner was asserting inherent mathematical truth.
>It focuses on cherry-picked phenomena that are easily represented by simple math, but ignores those where math struggles or appears to be inherently incapable.
Does he assert anywhere that any phenomenon will yield easily to mathematics? I don't think so. I think his point is that there's no good reason that even the phenomena that are well explained by mathematics should yield so easily to it. It's not "All of nature is surprisingly mathematical." It's "I see no good reason that a lot of phenomena is mathematical."
I'm too lazy to reread the essay, so I may be remembering it wrong.
I don't know where this characterization of "proof" comes from. It is merely an essay, and not intended as anything other than one. When I read it years ago, I did not get the sense that Wigner was asserting inherent mathematical truth.
>It focuses on cherry-picked phenomena that are easily represented by simple math, but ignores those where math struggles or appears to be inherently incapable.
Does he assert anywhere that any phenomenon will yield easily to mathematics? I don't think so. I think his point is that there's no good reason that even the phenomena that are well explained by mathematics should yield so easily to it. It's not "All of nature is surprisingly mathematical." It's "I see no good reason that a lot of phenomena is mathematical."
I'm too lazy to reread the essay, so I may be remembering it wrong.