Cantor's Theory: Mathematical creationism

From: David Petry (david_lawrence_petry_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/22/04 

Date: 22 Nov 2004 12:09:28 -0800

Cantor's theory (classical set theory) has the same relationship to
the mathematical sciences as Creationism theory has to the physical
sciences. They are similar in content and similar in origin. Cantor's
theory is essentially a creation myth.

Both Cantor's theory and Creationism theory are founded on the
proposition that we must acknowledge the existence of some abstract
infinite entity lying beyond what we can observe in order to understand
the reality that we do observe.

Furthermore, both have religious origins, and both try to hide their
religious origins. Creationism comes from ancient Jewish religious
teachings about the origin of the universe, and Cantor's theory of the
infinite has its origins in Medieval Jewish religious/mystical teachings
known as Kabbalah, wherein the world of the infinite is a higher level
of existence.

Both Cantor's theory and Creationism theory are pseudoscience. Both the
Creationists and the Cantorians impose upon their disciples a world view
in which people must modify their thinking to incorporate certain axioms
handed down from higher authority, and they are then compelled to accept
any "logical" conclusions derived from those axioms. Anyone who dares to
suggest that those axioms and the conclusions derived from those axioms
don't pass reality checks, is demonized as an idiot, imbecile, crackpot,
heretic, or some other kind of subhuman, and excluded from the community.

Both theories do interfere with scientific, technological and social
progress.

A new world view, and a new paradigm for mathematics, have emerged
from the computer revolution. This new world view strips away the
mysticism from the mind, and from the foundations of mathematics.

We now think of the brain as a computer, and the mind as the software
running on the computer. Mathematics is a tool invented by the mind to
help it understand the world in a precise, quantitative way. The brain
and the mind (and mathematics) have co-evolved, and this evolution
can be explained without recourse to abstract entities lying outside
the world we observe.

Furthermore, due to the existence of computers which are clearly
distinct from the human brain, we are forced to admit that there is
something about the virtual world that has an objective existence.
>From a mathematical perspective, we can think of the computer as a
microscope which helps us peer into a world of computation, and then
mathematics itself is the science which studies the phenomena observed
in that (virtual) world. The world of computation can be accepted as
a given, just as the physical world is accepted as a given in the
physical sciences. The fundamental objects living in the world
of computation are data structures and algorithms, and a foundation
for mathematics can be built on those objects. We study mathematics
because the phenomena observed in the world of computation can serve
as a model for phenomena observed in the physical world.

For those who accept this new world view, it is quite absurd to think
that the mind, which lives in the world of computation, can "prove"
the existence of a super-infinite world which has no connection to the
phenomena observed in the world of computation. The explanation for
Cantor's theory lies in the ability of the mind to delude itself.

Footnote 1: Everyone in the United States knows what Creationism is,
but perhaps other people don't. The Creationists take the biblical
creation myth as literal scientific truth, and they want the public
schools to teach this theory as an alternative to evolution.

Footnote 2: One interesting difference between the Cantorians and
the Creationists is a political difference. The Creationists have
strong connections to Christian/conservative politics, and the
Cantorians have connections to Humanistic/liberal politics.

Footnote 3: Debunking pseudoscience is a noble endeavor.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cantors Theory: Mathematical creationism
    ... Creationism comes from ancient Jewish religious ... >the infinite has its origins in Medieval Jewish religious/mystical ... I see that you know nothing of Mathematics. ... Please tell that to the Physicists, who are quite divided on that ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Intelligent Design
    ... to get Creationism taught in schools. ... Pennsylvania Department of Education Elementary Education, ... Mathematics Standards ... The following PDE Standards are addressed in this course. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Mnemonics
    ... What can we do to counter that influence and find real peace of mind? ... Any religion or philosophy that fails to take them into account has negative worth as it tries to force us to behave in ways we simply cannot. ... The creationist tradition conserves and justifies a continuation of the stone age power system into a modern time when we could have a much simpler and easier life style. ... It would allow us to think clearer if we got rid of all this creationism, all determined and grim male faces, all use of threats and violence as methods to treat people. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: Mnemonics
    ... >> How has the creationist religion influenced the human mind during ... Or is it the power structure of the social field which creationism ... That is not the purpose of the law. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: Cantors Theory: Mathematical creationism
    ... >the mathematical sciences as Creationism theory has to the physical ... >Creationists and the Cantorians impose upon their disciples a world view ... >mysticism from the mind, and from the foundations of mathematics. ...
    (sci.math)