Eugine_Nier comments on Causal Reference - Less Wrong
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Comments (242)
Meditation:
If we can only meaningfully talk about parts of the universe that can be pinned down inside the causal graph, where do we find the fact that 2 + 2 = 4? Or did I just make a meaningless noise, there? Or if you claim that "2 + 2 = 4" isn't meaningful or true, then what alternate property does the sentence "2 + 2 = 4" have which makes it so much more useful than the sentence "2 + 2 = 3"?
Mathematics is a lower, actually the lowest, tier.
Actually, if you think of it as affecting us, but not being affected by us, it is, in EY's words, mathematics is higher. We would be "shadows" influenced by the higher tier, but unable to affect it.
But I don't really think this line of reasoning leads anywhere.