TimS comments on Rationality Quotes March 2012 - Less Wrong

4 Post author: Thomas 03 March 2012 08:04AM

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Comment author: TimS 05 March 2012 09:26:14PM *  1 point [-]

Other subthread? Don't see where anyone made that point. Moreover, I don't think it is a good reading of the original quote.

But the proof of [a mathematical] proposition is a matter of physics only. There is no such thing as abstractly proving something, just as there is no such thing as abstractly knowing something.

That's not fairly represented by saying "All actual proofs are on physical paper (or equivalent)."

Comment author: Vaniver 06 March 2012 08:08:08PM 0 points [-]

I was thinking of this comment. If by "knowledge" he means "a piece of memory in reality," then by definition there is no abstract knowledge, and no abstract proofs, because he limited himself to concrete knowledge.

That knowledge can describe concepts that we don't think of as concrete- the Pythogorean Theorem doesn't have a physical manifestation somewhere- but my knowledge of it does have a physical manifestation.