Combining Texts
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'Thinking About Mathematics', 'Against Method' and 'Infinity: Quest to Think the Unthinkable'
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22 ideas
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 1. Mathematics
10880
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Mathematics can be 'pure' (unapplied), 'real' (physically grounded); or 'applied' (just applicable) [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / b. Types of number
8763
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The number 3 is presumably identical as a natural, an integer, a rational, a real, and complex [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / e. Ordinal numbers
10861
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Beyond infinity cardinals and ordinals can come apart [Clegg]
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10860
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An ordinal number is defined by the set that comes before it [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / g. Real numbers
10854
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Transcendental numbers can't be fitted to finite equations [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / h. Reals from Cauchy
18249
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Cauchy gave a formal definition of a converging sequence. [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / k. Imaginary numbers
10858
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By adding an axis of imaginary numbers, we get the useful 'number plane' instead of number line [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 3. Nature of Numbers / l. Zero
10853
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Either lack of zero made early mathematics geometrical, or the geometrical approach made zero meaningless [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 5. The Infinite / a. The Infinite
10866
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Cantor's account of infinities has the shaky foundation of irrational numbers [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 5. The Infinite / g. Continuum Hypothesis
10862
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The 'continuum hypothesis' says aleph-one is the cardinality of the reals [Clegg]
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10869
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The Continuum Hypothesis is independent of the axioms of set theory [Clegg]
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6. Mathematics / B. Foundations for Mathematics / 1. Foundations for Mathematics
8764
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Categories are the best foundation for mathematics [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / B. Foundations for Mathematics / 5. Definitions of Number / f. Zermelo numbers
8762
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Two definitions of 3 in terms of sets disagree over whether 1 is a member of 3 [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / B. Foundations for Mathematics / 7. Mathematical Structuralism / a. Structuralism
8760
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Numbers do not exist independently; the essence of a number is its relations to other numbers [Shapiro]
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8761
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A 'system' is related objects; a 'pattern' or 'structure' abstracts the pure relations from them [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 6. Logicism / d. Logicism critique
8744
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Logicism seems to be a non-starter if (as is widely held) logic has no ontology of its own [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 7. Formalism
8749
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Term Formalism says mathematics is just about symbols - but real numbers have no names [Shapiro]
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8750
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Game Formalism is just a matter of rules, like chess - but then why is it useful in science? [Shapiro]
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8752
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Deductivism says mathematics is logical consequences of uninterpreted axioms [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 10. Constructivism / b. Intuitionism
8753
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Critics resent the way intuitionism cripples mathematics, but it allows new important distinctions [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 10. Constructivism / c. Conceptualism
8731
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Conceptualist are just realists or idealist or nominalists, depending on their view of concepts [Shapiro]
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6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 10. Constructivism / d. Predicativism
8730
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'Impredicative' definitions refer to the thing being described [Shapiro]
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