Conference hydra::dejavu

1508.0. "More on "Seeing is Believing"" by CGVAX2::PAINTER (reductio ad absurdum!) Wed Jul 24 1991 13:37

    
    A quote from "The Emperor's New Mind", by Roger Penrose:
    
    Chapter 10 - Where lies the physics of the mind?
    
    "As I have stated earlier, a good part of the reason for believing that
    consciousness is able to influence truth-judgements in an
    non-algorithmic way stems from consideration of Godel's theorem.  If we
    can see that the role of consciousness is non-algorighmic when forming
    mathematical judgements, where calculation and rigorous proof
    constitute such as important factor, then surely we may be persuaded
    that such a non-algorithmic ingredient could be crucial for the role of
    consciousness in more general (non-mathematical) circumstances.
    
    "...Mathematical truth is NOT something that we ascertain merely by use
    of an algorithm.  I believe, also, that our 'consciousness' is a
    crucial ingredient in our conprehension of mathematical truth.  We must
    'see' the truth of a mathematical argument to be convinced of its
    validity.  This 'seeing' is the very essense of consciousness.  It must
    be present whenever we directly perceive mathematical truth.  When we
    convince of the validity of Godel's theorem we not only 'see' it, but
    by doing so, we reveal the very non-algorithmic nature of the 'seeing'
    process itself."
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    The last math class I took was over 12 years ago, and it was Calc.III,
    and I'm just now exploring the links between spirituality and the
    science classes (particularly physics and math) I took back then.
    
    I'm enjoying reading books by Hawking, Penrose, Hofstadter, and the
    others (Chaos, etc.).  I haven't gotten through all of them, but the
    paragraphs above did appear to be relevant to the topics at hand.
    
    My style - I do not debate.  I seek only to share, with the intent that
    during the sharing, all will become more educated/enlightened.
    
    With that, your comments and views are welcome.
    Comments welcome.
    
    Cindy

	I don't quite see what you're getting at...		%^D)

	

    
    One person's truth is not another person's truth until they 'see' it,
    and the methods they employ inside of themselves to 'see' it or 'get'
    it, vary from person to person...or, rather, they're non-algorithmic.
    
    No two people are alike, and therefore the process of arriving at the
    same understanding is different.  Therefore, it is up to each of us to 
    value each other's differences in the process.
    
    Cindy

    
    
    I remember the first time I ever saw a rainbow.
    It was even more beautiful than how my sister described it.
    And she described it like it was the most beautiful thing ever.
    
    Hmm... those were the days.
    
    -Mark
    

    Sounds just plain absurdum.  Do you have trouble finding people who
    will listen to you?

I haven't read Penrose's book, but this seems relevant:

COLBIN::BOOKS (q.v.) 1187.*

Joseph Weizenbaum's _Computer Power and Human Reason_.  (The MK library has a
copy, Cindy).
				/AHM

    
    Thanks Alan.  I'll check down here in LKG to see if we've got one here.
    
    Cindy

    
    	Seeing is believing, in the things you see...
    	Loving is believing, in the things you love...
    
    Peter, Paul and Mary
    
    ;-)
    
    Brian