Re:Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore
by Koshkin on Friday August 23, 2019 @05:47PM
(#20782991)
It is in their mathematical expression that the laws of nature find their most precise form. Math, therefore, is the single most objective kind of knowledge. But, at the same time, that also means that Math cannot be political. (I am not talking about the impact of mathematics on the society, which is what the book is about.)
Re:Google Doesn’t Want Staff Debating Politics at Work Anymore
by justinmeiners on Friday August 23, 2019 @06:12PM
(#20783207)
> the single most objective kind of knowledge
That's likely true.
> that also means that Math cannot be political.
That doesn't follow from the first assumption.
The context here is that someone is claiming math is a counterexample to "everything being political" unfortunately I don't think there is a counterexample.
> which is what the book is about
Many of the chapters are about this. There is a chapter about mathematical rhetoric and how math is used to persuade people.
I would add that mathematical abstractions represent a particular philosophy of viewing the world. For example greek geometry is heavily biased by Platonism.
Just look at the phrase you used: "law of nature". Is nature governed by "laws"? This is certainly a position in an argument about how the world works.
I recommend reading "Descartes Dream."