Mathematicians hunting prime numbers discover infinite new pattern

Post by majkinetor » Tue, Jun 24, 2025, 8:18 PM UTC

FredPret wrote: post #42

alphazard wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I handed you 1 apple, and then handed you another apple, you wouldn't be surprised to find that you had 2 apples. The same trick works with oranges and pears.

> If I handed you 1 apple, At this point I hold one object that we agree to label "apple". Note that even seeing it as a single object is a layer of abstraction. In reality it's a clump of fundamental particles temporarily banding together > and then handed you another apple, What's "another apple"? What does it have in common with the thing I'm already holding? We label this thing to be also an apple, but it's a tot…

Post by majkinetor » Wed, Jun 25, 2025, 7:00 AM UTC

FredPret wrote: post #102

majkinetor wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very nicely said. However, what about virtual things, e.g. apples in a computer game.

There are no virtual things! Every computer / imaginary apple is represented by real electrons on a drive / chemicals in a brain. Even if we are a simulation, we also have to ultimately be represented by something real.

Post by giardini » Thu, Jun 26, 2025, 8:02 PM UTC

random3 wrote: post #52

giardini wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as we know, the universe is a single unity, and any discrete units and any other type of math are human distinctions overlaid upon that unity.

Can you explain what you mean here? I mean yes there’s a universe so it can be see as a unit. There’s also quantum mechanics, telling us we can only distinguish discrete objects at the bottom of the scale. Can you give an example of a non-human distinction, or explain what you mean by that concept?