Comment by constantcrying

1 day ago

>Math

But the first exercise is about judging statements based on nebulous definitions, definitely unrelated to mathematics?

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constantcrying

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nimonian  1 day ago

Mathematics is concerned with a lot more than arithmetic and computation. Beyond the most basic levels, a mathematician will profit greatly from being aware of this type of epistemological vocabulary and a strong sense of their underlying meaning. Whether reading or writing mathematics, we're constantly dealing with propositions, and correctly taxonomising those propositions can really help keep your mental workspace clean.

I do question the effectiveness (and accuracy) of this exercise, but its learning objectives I think are quite apt.

  • constantcrying  21 hours ago

    To be honest I do not think that these word games are helpful at all. Throughout all of my mathematical education what has always helped me to keep my "mental workspace clean", was to never abandon the model.

    > and correctly taxonomising those propositions

    The correct taxonomy for a proposition is true/false and proven/unproven.

    I can not even fathom a mathematical model where distinguishing a "law" from a "fact" is meaningful.

    And the idea of defining a "fact" as something empirically demonstrated is just ridiculous, I totally reject it.

    • vessenes  21 hours ago

      I dislike the linked site. A lot. But counterpoint: Zermelo-Frankel with or without Axiom of Choice is a fair mathematical analogue to distinguishing laws and facts, in my opinion.

      Put another way, decidability is a large area of mathematical research.

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