From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,1042f393323e22da X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,1042f393323e22da X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,1042f393323e22da X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public From: brashear@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us (Philip Brashear) Subject: Re: Off topic response to an off topic message--> was:Re: Software Engineering and Dreamers Date: 1997/06/12 Message-ID: <5noneg$s1k@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 247861600 References: <5n2csg$1c6@mtinsc04.worldnet.att.net> <3394E51B.7A5A@flash.net> <5nh4d2$7gm@scotsman.ed.ac.uk> Organization: None Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.ada Date: 1997-06-12T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: OK, I finally got sucked into this maelstrom. Why are people talking about numbers so much? There seems to be a strong impression that mathematics = the study of numbers. No, that's arithmetic. Mathematics is the study of logical implication: one puts up a set of postulates and studies the theorems (implications) that result. Some of these postulates concern these "number" things (like Peano's postulates). Others concern these "geometric" things (like several people's attempts to perfect Euclid's postulates). Others concern things with no obvious relation to observable reality. (The latter are often the most interesting and turn out to have great impact on the "real" world. Talk about serendipity!) When I was working on that elusive Ph.D. in math, my field was topological algebra (as distinguished from algebraic topology). I REALLY didn't deal with numeric concepts. Phil Brashear