DanArmak comments on Less Wrong Q&A with Eliezer Yudkowsky: Ask Your Questions - Less Wrong

16 Post author: MichaelGR 11 November 2009 03:00AM

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Comment author: DanArmak 11 November 2009 10:34:56AM 1 point [-]

What would it even mean for the natural numbers (the entire infinity of them) to "exist"?

What makes a set acceptable or not?

Comment author: cousin_it 12 November 2009 11:55:55AM *  2 points [-]

This question sounds weird to me.

I find it best not to speak about "existence", but speak instead of logical models that work. For example, we don't know if our concept of integers is consistent, but we have evolved a set of tools for reasoning about it that have been quite useful so far. Now we try to add new reasoning tools, new concepts, without breaking the system. For example, if we imagine "the set of all sets" and apply some common reasoning to it, we reach Russell's paradox; but we can't feed this paradox back into the integers to demonstrate their inconsistency, so we just throw the problematic concept away with no harm done.

Comment author: DanArmak 14 November 2009 12:09:08AM 1 point [-]

It sounds weird to me too, which is why I asked it - because Psy-Kosh said EY said something about integers, or the set of integers, existing or not.

Comment author: Douglas_Knight 14 November 2009 02:55:37AM *  0 points [-]

because Psy-Kosh said EY said [infinite set atheist]

secondary sources? bah!

LMGTFY (or the full experience)