Penrose, 1.3:

What I mean by [Platonic] ‘existence’ is really just the objectivity of mathematical truth. Platonic existence, as I see it, refers to the existence of an objective external standard that is not dependent upon our individual opinions nor upon our particular culture.

He follows in an example of Fermat’s last theorem: was it not “true” before it was proved? I like Penrose’s approach here: it is a soft Platonism, accepting objectivity, which is pretty necessary to assign meaning to scientific explanations, but placing it in a different category of existence form physics things. Has he says:

[Mathematical forms] do not have spatial locations; nor do they exist in time. Objective mathematical notions must be thought of as timeless entities and are not to be regarded as being conjured into existence at the moment thet they were first humanely perceived.

This is a nice, functional approach to the nature of mathematical reality. It leaves room for the mystery without endorsing mysticism. As I discussed on WKU, this problem has really been the center of philosophy from the beginning: seeking truths as compelling as mathematical theorems in all inquiries.

The short answer: we are not endowed with a category for the ontological status of mathematical forms, so we apply the concept of existence as evolved. The long answer will require a book.

I must say I’m delighted to find such sitmulating thought in the first 20 pages, of more than 1000.

Chivas Regal.

Brook Allen’s article in The Nation arouses my affection for the enlightenment. It occurs to me now, that what really set the era apart (as far as the US is concerned), is that the policy makers were also members of the intellectual elite. Oh for a time when a statesman could say

The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. (Thomas Jefferson)

Not long ago I found myself contemplating whether the USA, as a political entity, will last another 100 years. I’m always supremely skeptical about narratives of decline. Every generation everywhere decries the degradation of culture and proclaims immanent disaster (should their particular creed not be universally adopted). I don’t take media-fueled stories of divisiveness seriously. But looking at the 200 year arc of political history, the system as conceived has been damaged, primarily through the expansion and concentration of executive power. The mechanisms of checks and balances no longer function to any degree of adequacy. I’m not sure if equilibrium can be restored. After 100 years the nation survived a political crisis only through partial military subjugation. I’m willing to bet on a crisis of similar proportions within the next century, but I doubt the resolution will be similar.

If I can’t sleep, I might as well write.

New on the bookshelf: Zinn’s voices of…, Boltzmann’s Atom, and Penrose’s new book is on the way. All this and research too…

I’ve started Diamond’s Collapse. And won som Halo 2 games.

If I can’t sleep, I might as well write.

New on the bookshelf: Zinn’s voices of…, Boltzman’s Atom, and Penrose’s new book is on the way. All this and research too…

I’ve started Diamond’s Collapse. And won som Halo 2 games.

Indiana State Taxes suck ass. I think the tax laws were written by monkeys. No, make that Lemurs. It takes me twice as long to wind my way through that morass of stupidity than the federal and Colorado taxes combined. Moral hypocrisy & fiscal insanity: red to the core.

Monday, February 21, 2005 Posted: 12:49 AM EST (0549 GMT)

DENVER, Colorado (AP) — Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.

The sickest, crudest, most vile and repugnant pornography ever transcribed to tape pales to the perversity knit in the heart of America, manifested as the big pink dildo in the big white house. Thompson held up a mirror, and painted himself its reflection. The world is a little freer to pursue its delusions, uncelebrated and oblivious. R.I.P.

At an approprate time, we’ll give Hunter a proper sendoff. Anyone know his favorite brand of whiskey?

Just polished off The Ancestor’s Tale.. Need I say it again? Richard Dawkins for Pope!

I suppose one reason I didn’t write much about this book is most of it would be of the form: “yeah, what he said.” There’s not much for me to add, and any attempt would be inadequate. All the big concepts are familiar, this is a book for the details. But, I think a parting quote is deserved:

My objection to supernatural beliefs is precisely that they miserably fail to do justice to the sublime grandeur of the real world. They represent a narrowing-down from reality, an impoverishment of what the real world has to offer.

Amen. Get that man a pointy hat. As much as I like other science writers, there’s nobody else in Richard’s league.

No sign of puppy owners. I have a hard time imagining a puppy that young running off on its own. This leads me to believe it was abandoned. This practice is common enough in Terre Haute that I’ve seen signs at the parks declaring fines for abandoning pets there. This is Bush country, all right.

I’m going to try to give it away without going through the pound.

I’ve got several reading entries from my laptop to load and backdate. Yesterday, while walking the dogs, I again came upon a stray puppy. Last time, it had a Humane Society tattoo and we were able to find the owners. This time, nothing. I filed a found dog report at the HS, but so far that’s it. No kennel there open until next Tuesday. No call today.

This is a very young and very cute dog. No more than 3-4 months, I’d say. Well cared for, by appearances, recently lost when I found him. I considered knocking on some doors nearby, and I wished I did, but I just couldn’t coerce my sociophobic brain to do it.

If no one tracks him down via the shelter, I haven’t decided how to handle it. I could turn him over, or attempt to find him a home myself. The latter seems preferable in about every way, though a little murky ethically. At what point is it right to shop him around? I think the shelter waits 7 days. What more should I do to try to track down the original owners? Are they missing him terribly, with crying kids and empty food bowl vigils, or did some jack ass abandon him, because he pissed on the rug one too many times?

He has all the trappings of a great & handsome companion animal, but keeping him for good isn’t a viable option. We’ve got a few days to think about it. In the mean time, he’s a handful. I’d like to put some posters up this weekend, but we’ve lost the battery charger for the camera. Perhaps I can borrow one from work.