Daniel_Burfoot comments on Metaphilosophical Mysteries - Less Wrong

35 Post author: Wei_Dai 27 July 2010 12:55AM

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Comment author: Daniel_Burfoot 27 July 2010 04:54:58PM *  6 points [-]

unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences, especially in physics

Note that with respect to the power of mathematics, it's as easy to view the cup as half-empty as half-full. Here's Jaynes on the issue:

Phenomena whose very existence is unknown to the vast majority of the human race (such as the diff erence in ultraviolet spectra of Iron and Nickel) can be explained in exhaustive mathematical detail but all of modern science is practically helpless when faced with the complications of such a commonplace fact as the growth of a blade of grass.

Comment author: phob 27 July 2010 05:01:23PM 10 points [-]

A priori, as intelligent beings, we expect the universe at our scale to be immensely complex, since it produced us. I don't view our inability to explain fully phenomena at our scale as unreasonable non-effectiveness.

Comment author: Baughn 28 July 2010 07:48:29PM *  3 points [-]

We should perhaps expect that, but I didn't actually do so until you mentioned it; not for the reasons you stated, at least not as quite that short and obvious a sentence.

Bravo.

Comment author: Mitchell_Porter 29 July 2010 08:31:42AM 2 points [-]

This statement from Jaynes sounds out of date. In the age of genomics and molecular biology, we can also go into exhaustive detail about the growth of a blade of grass.

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