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Re: ZFC really really really sucks -- really!
Posted:
Jan 7, 2013 5:17 PM
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david petry <david_lawrence_petry@yahoo.com> writes:
> On Monday, January 7, 2013 1:09:09 PM UTC-8, Jesse F. Hughes wrote:
>
>> What does it matter to you that others prefer using a theory that you
>> don't like?
>
> To say that I "don't like" ZFC is silly.
>
> The logic underlying ZFC is a perversion of natural logic.
I suppose "silly" is in the eye of the beholder.
> It makes communication between mathematicians and those who need
> mathematics difficult. It puts mathematicians out of touch with
> reality. It drives people insane. This is an important issue.
"It drives people insane." Sometimes, I really love your prose.
Really.
Anyway, maybe you should be bringing your case to the APA or CDC rather
than to the poor, infected denizens of this newsgroup. Help find a cure
or at least a vaccination! Don't bother haranguing the mentally ill for
their shortcomings. You don't exhort schizophrenics to stop hearing
voices, do you?
>
> Let me remind you of the words of the most famous mathematician of the
> twentieth century:
>
>
> "Apart from the most elementary mathematics, like arithmetic or high
> school algebra, the symbols, formulas and words of mathematics have no
> meaning at all. The entire structure of pure mathematics is a
> monstrous swindle, simply a game, a prank. You may well ask, "are
> there no renegades to reveal the truth?" Yes, of course. But the
> facts are so incredible that no one takes them seriously. So the
> secret is in no danger." -- Ted Kaczynski in a letter to Lutz
> Dammbeck, from the documentary "The Net"
Wait. Is he a good guy in your view, or a bad guy?
In any case, I don't think he counts as the most famous mathematician of
the twentieth century. At least, if you ask random persons in the
street to name a mathematician, some name aside from Kaczynski is likely
to have a plurality (among the minority who can name anyone).
Sadly, I'll wager that the most popular response is "Einstein".
Kaczynski is a somewhat (in)famous person who happens to be a
mathematician, but he is not famous for that fact.
--
"But you people are scum of the earth who pretend to be something that
is clearly beyond you--real mathematicians. I wouldn't be having
these problems with Gauss or Euler. I wouldn't be having these
problems with Fermat or Archimedes." -- James S. Harris on pretending
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