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  1. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    Yeah, *that* clarifies things. Looks like meaningless blather to me.
  2. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    The difference between opinion and fact is that opinions vary from person to person and facts don't. It isn't a 'higher level of reality' that minds influence reality. We do this literally every day whenever we turn thoughts into actions. Nothing special there. You keep saying the supernatural...
  3. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    If it depends on each individual mind, then it is a matter of opinion and not of fact. That is the difference, after all, between opinion and fact. I would even go so far as to call it fantasy. I have looked into the CTMU and have found it not worth much, actually. Like most metaphysics, it...
  4. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    You have yet to give any evidence. If you have some, please give it. Every set is a subset of itself. So? You have yet to show that there is a supernatural to have knowledge about. if you have any evidence of such, please give it. According to you. But I see no reason to accept you as an...
  5. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    OK. You are displeased. Show that there is a supernatural to have understanding of. No, you simply claimed it follows from logic without actually giving the argument. My PhD qualifying exams in quantum theory say I have at least a basic understanding. And no, it is NOT the science of the...
  6. Polymath257

    Time Dedicated to Worship/Prayer, Meditation, and/or Silent Contemplation

    I'm not quite sure how to answer this. No time for prayer/worship/or formal meditation. But I do a lot of silent contemplation (usually of math, physics, or history). Does that count? I certainly feel more peaceful after....
  7. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    Prove that is fallacious. By all the evidence we can see, the claim you make is false. This is a false deduction. The brain is primarily a classical object, not a quantum one. In fact, at the temperatures of the brain, decoherence happens almost instantaneously. Your mistake is thinking that...
  8. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    I disagree here. There are too many examples of people who intend well, but end up committing great evil, of people looking for something and discovering something more important by accident, etc. I consider the consequences to be the most important aspect, actually. Some reliance on the work...
  9. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    The only sense I can make of the word 'spiritual' is the feelings of connection we get to others and to the world around us. That is eaisly explained through brain chemistry. You haven't shown that a deity exists at all, let alone that it permeates all matter.
  10. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    Well, I consider the mental to be based in the physical, so that isn't an issue for me. Everything is still ultimately physical. Perhaps you should give a definition of the term 'existence'? I don't believe that the mental is non-physical: it is the result of the physical operation of our...
  11. Polymath257

    Reasons for Atheism if you aren't in the DIR

    *** Mod Post *** This is a *discussion* forum, not a debate forum.
  12. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    As I see it, we are a bunch of ants living on a very small anthill in a universe that is immeasurably hostile to life as we know it. Intellect and compassion impress me about conscious beings. I don't see the universe at large as being conscious. Agreed. A proper amount of skepticism is a good...
  13. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    Significant compared to what? The universe at large? Hardly. Yes, the 'heart' determines our goals, our values, and what we like/dislike. It determines whether we are interested in truth for its own sake or not. It determines, when we find a truth, whether we will reject it because we don't...
  14. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    I do think they are equally *un*-justified. :)
  15. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    No, that is NOT the assumption. It is the *conclusion* based on available evidence. You have the direction of the argument backwards. And why would it be impossible to nullify that hypothesis by proving it wrong? And why *must* there be *one* responsible? Why not many? Why not none? All you...
  16. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    And others seem to put the line at Zormelo-Fraenkl set theory. Each Platonist puts it in a different place. And that tells me it is arbitrary and not something outside of our minds.
  17. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    I'm saying that ALL the evidence we have points in that direction and that there is no evidence pointing another direction. Until there is, there is no reason to propose more. Further, the proposal that there is more actually explains exactly nothing that is not already explained. It doesn't...
  18. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    Then why different grunts for other dogs? Or no grunt at all? The new meaning to the grunts is because of her: she invented the grunt to carry the meaning.
  19. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    All of the evidence we have for how the brain functions and its relationship to personality. Again, look at the book 'Behave' by Sapolsky. It goes into a LOT of detail. But, if you want to claim there *is* more than neurons firing, the burden of proof is on you. This is a general thing: the...
  20. Polymath257

    Mathematics, Discovered or Invented?

    My dog has 'discovered' that grunting at me will remind me to get her dinner. But I would say she invented the specific sound she makes. I think that we discovered that sound can carry information and invented the specific sounds to be used for that purpose.
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