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In a message dated 3/12/01 9:36:41 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> Not a mathematical problem? You have absolutely no idea what you are talking
> about.
>
That seems a little strong. I've taken and taught Bauhaus-oriented design
classes, and this is very much the kind of problem assigned to students,
along with such esoterica as how to fold a piece of paper so that it will
support a weight of 50 pounds. Also, aren't you forgetting the history of the
Four Color Theorem? It was widely known among map-makers that for a map on a
plane surface--or, as mathematicians would add, on the surface of a
sphere--it never required more than four colors. It became a mathematical
problem for an arbitrary or stipulative reason--because some mathematician
wondered why this was so, and redefined it as a "mathematical" problem.
Voila! From a mathematical perspective, one now pretends that the map makers
never existed, that they were too stupid to ever check out whether it really
worked themselves, that they somehow managed to pass on the skill for many
generations without ever understanding how to pass on the skill, and all
kinds of other silly things.
pat
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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial Narrow" LANG="0"><B>In a message dated 3/12/01 9:36:41 AM Eastern Standard Time,
<BR>[log in to unmask] writes:
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></B>
<BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Not a mathematical problem? You have absolutely no idea what you are talking
<BR>about.
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial Narrow" LANG="0"><B>That seems a little strong. I've taken and taught Bauhaus-oriented design
<BR>classes, and this is very much the kind of problem assigned to students,
<BR>along with such esoterica as how to fold a piece of paper so that it will
<BR>support a weight of 50 pounds. Also, aren't you forgetting the history of the
<BR>Four Color Theorem? It was widely known among map-makers that for a map on a
<BR>plane surface--or, as mathematicians would add, on the surface of a
<BR>sphere--it never required more than four colors. It became a mathematical
<BR>problem for an arbitrary or stipulative reason--because some mathematician
<BR>wondered why this was so, and redefined it as a "mathematical" problem.
<BR>Voila! From a mathematical perspective, one now pretends that the map makers
<BR>never existed, that they were too stupid to ever check out whether it really
<BR>worked themselves, that they somehow managed to pass on the skill for many
<BR>generations without ever understanding how to pass on the skill, and all
<BR>kinds of other silly things.
<BR>
<BR>pat
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR></B></FONT></HTML>
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