How not to factor a miracle
History and Philosophy of Physics
2015-12-17 v1
Abstract
Wigner's famous and influential claim that mathematics is "unreasonably effective" in physics is founded on unreasonable assumptions about the nature of mathematics and its independence of physics. Here I argue that what is surprising is not the effectiveness of mathematics but the amenability of physics to reductionist strategies. I also argue that while our luck may run out on the effectiveness of reductionism, mathematics is still our best hope for surpassing this obstacle. While I agree that human understanding of the natural world in mathematical terms evinces a miracle, I see no way to factor out the human dimension of this miracle.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1512.05217,
title = {How not to factor a miracle},
author = {Derek K. Wise},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1512.05217},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
Third Prize in the 2015 FQXi essay contest