JamesCole comments on The two meanings of mathematical terms - Less Wrong

-2 Post author: JamesCole 15 June 2009 02:30PM

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Comment author: komponisto 15 June 2009 08:47:13PM *  3 points [-]

Please see this previous comment of mine.

The point here is that it "1+1=2" should not be taken as a statement about physical reality, unless and until we have agreed (explicitly!) on a specific model of the world -- that is, a specific physical interpretation of those mathematical terms. If that model later turns out not to correspond to reality, that's what we say; we don't say that the mathematics was incorrect.

Thus, examples of things not to say:

Comment author: JamesCole 16 June 2009 06:17:07AM 0 points [-]

I fully agree, and this is completely in line with the points I was trying to make.