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<p class="MsoNormal">Spin ½ objects are spin up or down, no? What is going on with the length of an object below the +/- 0.1 nm absolute precision of a meter?<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Friam <friam-bounces@redfish.com> <b>On Behalf Of
</b>Frank Wimberly<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, March 24, 2021 6:03 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [FRIAM] Hywel's anti-representationalism<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">Slight clarification. Hywel said, "The number one does not exist." I think he was talking about measurement error and that no physical object is exactly one meter long. That's when I asked him how many mothers
he had.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">---<br>
Frank C. Wimberly<br>
140 Calle Ojo Feliz, <br>
Santa Fe, NM 87505<br>
<br>
505 670-9918<br>
Santa Fe, NM<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Wed, Mar 24, 2021, 5:59 PM <<a href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Such are the joys of dualism!<br>
<br>
n<br>
<br>
Nick Thompson<br>
<a href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com" target="_blank">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</a><br>
<a href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/" target="_blank">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</a><br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Friam <<a href="mailto:friam-bounces@redfish.com" target="_blank">friam-bounces@redfish.com</a>> On Behalf Of jon zingale<br>
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 5:24 PM<br>
To: <a href="mailto:friam@redfish.com" target="_blank">friam@redfish.com</a><br>
Subject: [FRIAM] Hywel's anti-representationalism<br>
<br>
From time to time, I find myself reflecting on the wisdom of my old friend<br>
Hywel, and this time in particular, on the anti-representational nature of<br>
his epistemology. Hywel was well known for his aphorisms and most famously<br>
the declaration that:<br>
<br>
"Mathematics is fine, but it is better to know what you are doing".<br>
<br>
Occasionally, I would hear this as a staunch refutation of math envy. Upon<br>
more gracious reflection it occurs to me that there is much to be gained<br>
from substituting, in the aphorism, "Mathematics" for "Representation".<br>
Perhaps, even better would be the declaration that:<br>
<br>
"Representation is fine, but it is better to know directly".<br>
<br>
Hywel would often decry the existence of numbers, to which Frank would<br>
playfully reply, "Hywel, how many mothers do you have"? Hywel's response was<br>
a tacit smile, his wisdom would need to wait for a more amenable moment.<br>
<br>
Hywel's thought was radically empirical. The *world* itself was the thing to<br>
know and everything else an, often convenient, illusion. To proceed with the<br>
discussion, granting mothers, was to already concede a denotational<br>
worldview that was not his own.<br>
<br>
It is perhaps more insightful to reflect on his views on non-units. Hywelian<br>
epistemology admits no two things the *same*. To discuss neutrinos with him,<br>
the area of his expertise, was to discuss the experiments themselves, the<br>
blips of particle detectors, and the tubs of baby oil. Relations always<br>
between direct perceptions. To ask him about the exchangeability of protons<br>
was to have a discussion about particle decay. All symmetries, illusory.<br>
<br>
While representationalists find themselves in paradox pondering the source,<br>
whence objects come? Hywel's epistemology finds no such concern and<br>
continues to find purchase out there among the stars.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
Sent from: <a href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/" target="_blank">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a><br>
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