Re: OT: Solipsism

From: Dirk Thierbach <dthierbach@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 12:38:01 +0100

R. Dan Henry <danhenry@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:48:37 +0100, Dirk Thierbach
> <dthierbach@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>>But without the tautologies of algebra and differential calculus they
>>are quite useless.

> Where did you ever get the idea that mathematics is a system of
> tautologies?

>From studying at university :-) In this case, having learned logic.
By definition, in mathematics a tautology is a statement that is
true under all possible assignments of values to the variables.
All theorems, lemmas etc. in mathematics are tautologies. A mathematical
proof consists in convincing the reader that it is indeed a tautology.

I know that this is not the way the word is used outside mathematical
logic... for example, it almost always has a connotation of "trivial".
(But all proofs are trivial, once you have understood them...)

- Dirk
.

Follow-Ups:
- Re: OT: Solipsism
  - From: John Brock

References:
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Emma Pease
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Tamim
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Stan Brown
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Mästerkatten
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Tamim
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Mästerkatten
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Tamim
- Re: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
  - From: Mästerkatten
- OT: Solipsism (was: COTW - Silmarillion Ch VII)
  - From: Dirk Thierbach
- Re: OT: Solipsism
  - From: stephen
- Re: OT: Solipsism
  - From: Dirk Thierbach
- Re: OT: Solipsism
  - From: R . Dan Henry

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