I feel OK about forwarding this since it went to a shared archive, the Polyhedron List. Magnus Wenninger is one of the most respected geometers, cited all over the place. He's also a priest, with a degree in philosophy. http://www.saintjohnsabbey.org/wenninger/ Here, he says Ludwig Wittgenstein is his favorite philosopher. Kirby =============== From: "Wenninger, Magnus" Date: January 31, 2010 9:06:48 AM CST To: [ Guy et al ] Cc: Polyhedron List <polyhedron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: [Polyhedron] Adventures among the blind Dear Guy and Wendy and all on the polyhedron list, I deeply appreciate your exchange of emails, because I love to read what both of you say. But now I must tell you what I have to say. Ludwig Wittgenstein is my favorite philosopher. I just opened my copy of "Philosophy, An Introduction to the Art of Wondering, by James L. Christian. Pages 334-39 has his biography, the subtitle of which is: Dissolving the Riddles of Life. But it is the side-line quotes on these pages that strike me most. Here are only some of Wittgenstein sayings: Let us not forget that a word hasn't got a meaning given to it, as it were, by a power independent of us....A word has the meaning someone has given to it. The object of philosophy is the logical clarification of thought. Philosophical clarification will have the same influence on mathematics as sunlight has on the growth of potato sprouts. Philosophical problems arise when language goes on holiday. End of quotes: Now I will stop. Read the biography. It says it all. Magnus ========================================== Need Something? Check here: http://ludwig.squarespace.com/wittrslinks/