VLVL(6) - Questions: Group Theory

[Matt Treyvaud]

On Mon, 7 Dec 1998, Tim Kordas wrote:

> > (206.25) Weed Atman,  preoccupied with the darker implications of a paper 
> > on group theory he'd just been reading
> 
> Mathematical physics is all about generating mathematical descriptions of
> the world. The discovery of deep symmetry and complex structures in what
> are taken to be the fundamentals of the world itself can be both beautiful
> as well as disturbing. Suppose Atman is preoccupied with some piece of
> such an elegant description of the world, it is easy to become disturbed
> by possible implications isn't it ? Evidence of design, of the world
> as "God's computer" or some such would fit well here. 

Or maybe just political/social implications.. most scientific discoveries
have opened new vistas for Them to harrass and oppress Us on. An obvious
example is atomic fission - a theoretically neutral thing to discover (a
means of creating energy) although of course it was not discovered in a
neutral environment...

Mathematical and abstract theories can be even more dangerous. There's a
definite trend in the 'opinion' section of the newspapers I read towards
lambasting economists, sociologists, etc. for narrow-mindedness (eg, "Is
the GNP really a good measure of a country's well-being?") As economics
divorces itself further and further from the reality of buying and selling
physical things, Economic Rationalism becomes more and more acceptable to
the powerbrokers ("First, abolish the customer"). Group theory and
cybernetics, if applied to human populations in certain ways, could have
even scarier and more de-humanising results. 

> What happens when a mathematician finds the sign "Sorry for the
> inconvenience" in the digits of their favorite irrational ? 

Why, then we know that God is the love-child of Douglas Adams and Carl
Sagan. (The alchemical marriage of archetypical Good and archetypical
Butthead, you might say ;) 

Matt

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 Matt Treyvaud, Abbr. Prim.                       (R.I.P. Kerry Thornley)
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