Scott Aaronson - What is Truth?

Defining ‘truth’ is an ancient question that in the age of science should find resolution and agreement. But this is not so. Even today, truth remains elusive. Can truth be objective or must it always be relative? Is truth the exclusive domain of science? Or can different truths be apprehended beyond science? What does philosophy say about truth?

Scott Joel Aaronson is a theoretical computer scientist and faculty member in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[carywalker]

Scott's genius blows my mind. I would have looked quizzically at him, and said something like, "you know, um, things that aren't, well, false, I guess, um..."

[Ed-quadF]

First video, in a long time, where Dr. Kuhn was silent. Love this channel.

[nullobject]

This guy took the question and ran with it.
Best interview yet. 🤓

[bparcej]

Had a dream many years ago ( post divorce)… there was a guru who said’there are three sides to every story…his, which he presents as the truth, and hers, which she presents as the truth…but the truth stands alone.’

[TheBroligarch]

What is truth?

Scott: so there’s a lot of ideas about what math is….

[GM-oi]

Nice to see Scott Aaronson again at the show.

If mathematical truth is not a mere generalisation of physical observations and has autonomy in our cognition and, moreover, math statements can have truth or falsehood independently of our ability to prove or disprove them, then is this situation a hint of the existence of non-physical reality - the realm of pure ideas, where eternal mathematical truth resides?

[StevenTorrey]

Strikes me as one of those incontrovertible truths. The Universe, and the mathematical model upon which it is based, exists whether anyone is there to confirm its existence, as was true for the first 4 or 5 billions of years before a hominem species, after 200, 000 years on planet Earth, figured it out. And when the Hominem species goes extinct, the mathematics of the Universe will continue to exist.

[kiwanoish]

Love you Scott (sincerely, QCSD is one of the best books I've read since GEB), but I can't unhear 'girdle', I'm sorry ;)

[andrewmasterman]

Even though an absolute true measurement is never possible in mathematics it’s still clear to see the value in making measurements and whilst never ultimately accurate can still be incredibly revealing and useful, it’s the basis of science.

[ColKurtzknew]

Truth is propositional and, as such, comprehensively, consistently coheres and corresponds with states of affairs.

[nyworker]

In the end as in the beginning what proves to be true is what consistently works.

[bretnetherton]

Awareness is known by awareness alone.

[MrSanford]

I think, at the crux of the matter is whether or not numbers in math represent existential, separate entities that can be added together rather then something just nominal

[Cardioid]

Lately I’ve been feeling gaslit by the universe tbh

[IsaacAsimov]

I got last after, "What can you say about the nature of Truth?"

[mesplin]

I didn't have any issues with the caveman version. The reason 2+2=4 is because we noticed 2 rocks and another 2 rocks made 4 rocks. This fact seems so intuitive now because we noticed that this rule didn't just apply to rocks but many other things as well.

[mikel]

The notion of "truth" can be divided in 2 main parts:
1) objective "truth" that exists independently of the scrutiny of the human mind, which is exactly the true real dynamic of the Universe.
2) subjective "truth" that is understood and defined arbitrarily ( practically, philosophically, mathematically, etc ) by the human mind.

[dennistucker]

Truth...A belief that survives all challenges to it. This accounts for changes to what is true and what is not. It accounts for relative and absolute truths. It accounts for evidence that is brought forward over time. It also means that what is true for me may not be true to someone else.

[MichaelYoung-ic]

Truth is the constitutive excellence of representation as such.

[gert]

The Correspondence Theory of Truth makes sense to me. Something is true if it corresponds to reality. (Of course there are philosphical issues around how we humans can/can't establish what reality is, but that's another issue).

So how does maths fit in? Well maths is about counting and measuring. There must be things to be counted and measured for maths to exist, so maths can't be a fundamental existent. So in what form does maths - countering and measuring - exist? It exists in the mind of the person counting and measuring, rather than as a property of the thing being counted and measured I think. Because counting and measuring is a way of describing the composition, processes or relationships of the actual things being measured. The things in themselves would exist just the same if there was no-one around to count and measure them.

So if anyone who looks at an arrangement of rocks observes and says there are four rocks, we agree that four rocks Corresponds to the Reality of the state of affairs. (And how good people are at discerning reality is can be put aside for a different philosophical discussion).