ATDTDA (7): 201-203 decoding

Ya Sam takoitov at hotmail.com
Sun Apr 29 16:55:20 CDT 2007


>It appears to me that the non-mathematicians on the list (quite 
>understandably) attach far too much significance to the math in AtD.  To 
>me, it appears that it's just not very important.
>
>*That* people are "doing math" -- that is important.  But no so much the 
>details of the math they are doing.
>
>Ray


If you're a mathematician, then we're in dire need of you too. I am firmly 
convinced that maths  is of great importance to AtD. If you mean that it's 
not very important what some equation discussed by characters means, I 
wouldn't agree either, because it may be a good joke, like 'log book' in 
M&D. It's not like I'm infusing the maths with some mystical significance, 
but AtD has provoked in me interest to certain mathematical issues and I 
enjoy exploring them on my low, barely comprehending level using Penrose's 
book as my guide. Maybe that would seem ridiculous to folks in the know, but 
I am genuinely carried away by some things I read about to whose 
significance I've never paid much attention before. Take for example the 
diagonal of a 1cm square, mathematically it's infinite,  ã2=1.414213..., 
but, to put it bluntly, the line on the paper does end. Or complex  numbers, 
how could it occur to anyone to use ã-1 in equations? Looks fascinating to 
me. I'm not afraid to look ignorant and ask competent people for 
explanations.

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