Re: [HM] Is Greek mathematics the *real* thing?
Roger Cooke (cooke@emba.uvm.edu)
Thu, 05 Nov 1998 14:33:19 -0500
At 10:24 AM 11/5/98 -0400, you wrote:
>On Thu, 5 Nov 1998, Roger Cooke wrote:
>
>> In my view, the Greeks added something that no one else did, not just
>> deduction, but...
>> I have the highest admiration for those who achieved so much with
>> intuition alone. But, fascinating as "ethnomathematics" is, you can't
>> do quantum mechanics or relativity with it.
>>
>
> Now: What do you say to those who say quantum mechanics and
>relativity are themselves culturally determined constructs, no more valid
>for Haitians than Voodoo for New Yorkers? (Cf. Gross and Levitt, *Higher
>Superstition*)
>
>
>Ralph A. Raimi (Mathematics) Tel. 716 275 4429, or (home) 716 244 9368
>University of Rochester Fax (at math.dept.): 716 244 6631
>Rochester, NY 14627 Homepage:
http://www.math.rochester.edu/u/rarm
>
>
I say exactly what Gross and Leavitt say, only not as eloquently.
Roger Cooke