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- From: mccolm@darwin.math.usf.edu. (Gregory McColm)
- Newsgroups: sci.math
- Subject: Re: Most important event in the history of mat
- Message-ID: <1992Oct12.170515.29850@ariel.ec.usf.edu>
- Date: 12 Oct 92 17:05:15 GMT
- Sender: news@ariel.ec.usf.edu (News Admin)
- Organization: Univ. of South Florida, Math Department
- Lines: 31
-
-
- The most important mathematical accomplishment ... ?
- I haven't seen the following nominated by anyone yet:
-
- The discovery that ordinal and cardinal finite numbers
- coincide; the discovery that the numbers go on forever
- (prehistoric?).
-
- The discovery of idealizable shapes---circles, triangles,
- etc (nearly prehistoric?).
-
- The decision that theorems need proofs, either for
- practical reasons (Thales) or religious reasons
- (Pythagoras).
-
- Number as the first foundation of mathematics (Pythagoras).
-
- Geometry as the second foundation of mathematics (Plato et
- al).
-
- The destruction of Logic/Set Theory as the third foundation
- (stay tuned).
-
- The use of idealized forms to represent scientific problems
- (Galileo), and the notion that theories merely describe,
- but do not explain (Newton) much less provide The Truth
- (Kant).
-
- -----Greg McColm
-
- Devil's advocate: The launching of Crelle's journal.
-