[lit-ideas] Re: Benoit Mandelbrot
- From: cblists@xxxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:54:14 +0200
On 17-Oct-10, at 12:26 PM, Donal McEvoy wrote:
Important thinker whose work arguably has important philosophical
implications - for example, on the relation between maths and physics
and on information theory, whatever that is.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11560101
One wonders whether article and headlines were written by two
different people; or whether the BBC wished to side-step - by
straddling (interesting image, that) - the 'mathematics is a process
of discovery of essential elements (Platonists read: 'Archetypal
Forms') of reality' / 'mathematics is a creative enterprise
(Wittgensteinians read: 'language game') of great value in the
development of a (Instrumentalists add: 'workable') picture of
reality' controversy.
In the sub-headline of the BBBC article (emphasis added): "Benoit
Mandelbrot, who *discovered* mathematical shapes known as fractals,
has died of cancer at the age of 85."
In the body of the article (again, emphasis added): "Mandelbrot, who
had joint French and US nationality, *developed* fractals as a
mathematical way of understanding the infinite complexity of nature."
I once asked a mathematician whether he thought he was discovering or
constructing his methods and results. He was decidedly in the
Platonist camp.
Chris Bruce,
Kiel, Germany
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