A well known number theorist commented: “I would have balanced the list (of successfull ‘platonic programs’ in the blog post) with “things sought that turned out not to exist” (e.g., the squaring of the circle, trisection of a general angle by Euclidean construction methods) as further hints that a platonic mentality seems to be very energetically at work—in the minds of many mathematicians”, and further suggested the poem “The naming of the parts” and some short stories by Tim O’Brien on the emotions can be invoked by the act of naming. The wikipedia description of O’Brien’s concept of truth: “O’Brien feels that the idea of creating a story that is technically false yet truthfully portrays war, as opposed to just stating the facts and creating no emotion in the reader, is the correct way to tell the story” reminds me strongly to the complex idea of “reality” of ancient thinkers, e.g. Thukydides.
A well known number theorist commented: “I would have balanced the list (of successfull ‘platonic programs’ in the blog post) with “things sought that turned out not to exist” (e.g., the squaring of the circle, trisection of a general angle by Euclidean construction methods) as further hints that a platonic mentality seems to be very energetically at work—in the minds of many mathematicians”, and further suggested the poem “The naming of the parts” and some short stories by Tim O’Brien on the emotions can be invoked by the act of naming. The wikipedia description of O’Brien’s concept of truth: “O’Brien feels that the idea of creating a story that is technically false yet truthfully portrays war, as opposed to just stating the facts and creating no emotion in the reader, is the correct way to tell the story” reminds me strongly to the complex idea of “reality” of ancient thinkers, e.g. Thukydides.
By: Thomas on April 14, 2010
at 5:06 pm