Hello, I have been reading quite a bit about Tegmark's mathematical universe hypothesis. I realize that it is overly speculative in nature, or at least perceived that way. I am unsure if my question is better suited for the philosophy forum as it seems to me inherently unfalsifiable.
Despite...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will_theorem I think the nature of quantum mechanics is very important when discussing this subject. If nature is deterministic then we must understand the basic physical laws, which are quantum in nature in order to determine outcomes.
As of late i have been musing upon the nature of free will. However i disagree with the standard interpretation of the link between Determinism and free will. Incompatibilism states that Free Will and Determinism cannot co-exist, and i agree with this stance. Where i disagree is with the...
It is kinda hard for people to fall in love with you when you major in pure mathematics. Most people i tell my major to reply "why would you want to do that?" or "What job are you going to get with that?", what is more these people are generally of above average intelligence (history...
I agree Patrick.
I am honestly shocked that people can pick and choose their dogma. In the New Testament (matthew19-21), Jesus says to give to the poor, and similarly in mark 10:21. This is quite a socialist ideal, and to be honest that is where i think the power of christianity lies. In the...
yes, i understand that, in my mathematics classes i allready have covered tensor analysis and differential geometry, but i am required to take SR before GR in by the physics department. So i was interested in a problem focused book as well, one which will give me a good shot at topping the exams.
Thanks Kevin, have you read it? If so could you tell me how mathematically rigorous the latter chapters are?
It looks like good physical intuition is presented, but it seems trivial, at least for the early chapters. It seems way too simplistic for my purposes.
Hello, i am reading ahead for my special relativity class next year.
I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good special relativity texts. I would like it to be quite mathematical/geometric, but also include physical intuition. I am not interested in any semi popular books (i have read...
I am having trouble understanding how special relativity reconciles the concept of causality. In one frame of reference event A may be followed by event B, but in another frame of reference event B may occur before event A. In the first frame of reference an observer may claim that event A...
I do not quite follow your reasoning. The age limit is 40 years, which combined with the fact that the Fields is usually considered the "nobel prize of mathematics" would seem to imply that mathematics is a young man's game. I understand that the prize was created to stimulate more research, but...
Thanks deRham, very good advice.
Out of curiosity, do other math majors here attempt to prove various theorems as they come to them independently of, say the textbook, before looking at the presented proof?
I do this myself, but find it quite frustrating when i fail to do it myself. The...
Well Dembadon, i am not going to give up on mathematics, no matter how badly i feel about myself. I think there is a culture within the mathematics community which upholds these notions of preciocity, by handing out numerous awards, such as the fields medal which have age restrictions. I have...