Mathematics is NOT reality | @SabineHossenfelder on whether #maths is the best #science can do

[lucascritchi]

Sabine is awesome! Astonishing intelligent woman!

[laaaliiiluuu]

Mathematics are like a picture of a mountain: The picture is not the mountain. It's just an abstraction.

[davidrobinson]

A man once asked Picasso to paint a portrait of his wife and showed him a photo of her - "This is my wife", he said. Picasso looked at the photo and said, "Small, isn't she?".

[davidrobinson]

I think Kant had it right. The reality we describe by means of mathematics or any other means is only ever empirical reality. We create models that represent reality as it is presented to our particular sensory and cognitive capacities. Ultimate reality - reality as it is "in itself" we can never know, because knowing is relational between the subjectivity of the knower and the object that is known.

[leosphilosophy]

mathematics: the imaginary net cast over the sensory impressions of a primate

[hng]

Math is human invention like speech and alphabet... these three inventions are timeless, they will exist till the last man on earth. These are the only available tools to describe science today. It does not mean that there would be no more tools other then these ones. All depends on the limits of the human intelligence.

[notu]

we dont know the limit in our ability to perceive true reality, that is the fundamental problem

[Dominick]

I value the perspective that Sabine presents. In my eyes, mathematics resembles a Sculptor that captures a precise representation of an object. Even if that object is a lifelike simulation of reality, there will always be an insufficient number of numbers to fully encapsulate the complexities of the real world.
Consider it akin to a pixelated picture; while the colors may be striking, a closer look reveals the limitations of the simulation. There’s nothing further to discover or explore.

[salvatoregiacomuzzi]

It's very clear from a philosophical point of view that mathematics is only one tool to approximate reality

[Wolfie]

Math isn´t enogh, , life contains much much more than matematics

[vtrandal]

Our best working theories are formal descriptions couched in mathematics and sometimes new mathematics. That’s not likely to ever change.

[emperorgnarwhal]

Very interesting. Is there an alternative to mathematics that describes what we observe any where near as accurately?

[sayandas]

If reality is not mathematics we know of, it is mathematics we do not know yet.

[alexsuited]

Well that makes 2 of us, Sabina. Always a pleasure to listen, thank you. Peace ✌️ 😎 from Canada, eh.

[drxyd]

I see physics as primary, mathematics is then extrapolated based off of physical regularities. If you can count to n, then n+1, infinity is not so much of a leap.

[TheGbelcher]

Dr. Hoseenfelder is not only a skeptic, she’s a skeptic’s skeptic.

[jhoylangoncalves]

I think the biggest question is: What could be better than math?

[chieftain]

Thank, Hellas! Mathematics is not 'real'. Its a naming method, a description, of existence. Not the thing itself.

[mikel]

Then you're in the right camp, Sabine. 👍👍✌️🙂

[branmuffin]

Materialism basically leads to the idea that reality is mathematics. Because all material phenomena can be described precisely by mathematics, the question is what could be possibly left over that mathematics leaves out? If there is a reality that is irreducible to mathematics it points to panpsychism or idealism, the idea that qualia and experience are fundamental.