01 APR 2015 by ideonexus

 We are Living in an Ancestor Simulation

Now we get to the core of the simulation argument. This does not purport to demonstrate that you are in a simulation. Instead, it shows that we should accept as true at least one of the following three propositions: (1) The chances that a species at our current level of development can avoid going extinct before becoming technologically mature is negligibly small (2) Almost no technologically mature civilisations are interested in running computer simulations of minds like ours (3) You are...
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See also Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? by the same author.

24 APR 2012 by ideonexus

 Mathematics Feels Real, but is Paradoxical

On foundations we believe in the reality of mathematics, but of course, when philosophers attack us with their paradoxes, we rush to hide behind formalism and say 'mathematics is just a combination of meaningless symbols,'... Finally we are left in peace to go back to our mathematics and do it as we have always done, with the feeling each mathematician has that he is working with something real. The sensation is probably an illusion, but it is very convenient.
Folksonomies: mathematics philosophy
Folksonomies: mathematics philosophy
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Real to the mathematician, paradoxical to the philosopher.