Understanding, artificial intelligence, and so forth
10 posts  •  created by Ian Durham   •  Mar. 7, 2010 @ 01:56 GMT
"In the discussion over the nature of mathematics, one interesting side-argument that recently started was over the idea of "understanding." What does it take to really understand something? The..."

The limits of mathematics
126 posts  •  created by Ian Durham   •  Feb. 13, 2010 @ 19:43 GMT
"I realize this forum hasn't gotten much action lately, but I'm hoping enough people pop on here that I get some feedback on this (particularly some of the membership who may have worked on or thought..."

Does Math Evolve?
13 posts  •  created by William Orem   •  May. 27, 2008 @ 18:15 GMT
"Here’s what I’m wondering: At Plank Density or greater, distinctions such as “here” and “there” have no operational meaning. When the universe was at this density, were simple arithmetical operations..."

Tegmark's Mathematical Universe
146 posts  •  created by Anthony Aguirre   •  May. 1, 2007 @ 13:03 GMT
"While he would be too modest to toot his own horn, there's nothing stopping me from pointing out that 'mad Max' has recently put out a very interesting paper on whether all possible formal systems..."

Wave function collapse demystified
77 posts  •  created by A. Garrett Lisi   •  Apr. 27, 2007 @ 13:11 GMT
"There has always been an aura of mystical speculation surrounding quantum mechanics and the role of consciousness. The interpretation of wave function collapse (usually referred to as "the measurement..."