Ideas of Stephen Wolfram, by Theme

[British, b.1959, Computeer scientist and physicist.]

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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / g. Applying mathematics

20660	At one level maths and nature are very similar, suggesting some deeper origin
	Full Idea: At some rather abstract level one can immediately recognise one basic similarity between nature and mathematics ...this suggests that the overall similarity between mathematics and nature must have a deeper origin.
	From: Stephen Wolfram (A New Kind of Science [2002], p.772), quoted by Peter Watson - Convergence 17 'Philosophy'
	A reaction: Personally I think mathematics has been derived by abstracting from the patterns in nature, and then further extrapolating from those abstractions. So the puzzle in nature is not the correspondence with mathematics, but the patterns.

27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 4. Substantival Space

20659	Space and its contents seem to be one stuff - so space is the only existing thing
	Full Idea: It seems plausible that both space and its contents should somehow be made of the same stuff - so that in a sense space becomes the only thing in the universe.
	From: Stephen Wolfram (A New Kind of Science [2002], p.474), quoted by Peter Watson - Convergence 17 'Philosophy'
	A reaction: I presume the concept of a 'field' is what makes this idea possible.