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Tom Copeland
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Don't be a puss! (A rejoinder to Skeptic Cat)

On a personal level: Hmm, guilty until proven innocent or innocent until proven guilty? Demanding 'proof of innocence' frequently in a relationship is incredibly corrosive, not to mention time-consuming and emotionally draining. In fact, I would argue that without trust there is no real relationship. So, proof of what and by whom? And what constitutes a proof (as Alex notes)--news reports, gossip?

In mathematics: How often does a mathematician confirm the truth of theorems he uses? Don't most wait for apparent inconsistencies or other inadequacies to appear before closely examining a mathematical edifice skeptically? And even then, don't most mathematicians trust the 'authorities' in the field to resolve the problem?

In some sense, a belief that a good, pragmatic approximation to 'the truth' will out is implicit in people's approaches to most endeavors. (E.g., see Michael Atiyah's comments on Proof in Advice to a Young Mathematician.) So, in the spirit of Euler, Fourier, Riemann, Heaviside, and Ramanujan (some of the most productive personalities in mathematics), don't be a puss, have the courage to forge ahead (albeit not blindly) until your belief is no longer tenable.

Don't be a puss! (A rejoinder to Skeptic Cat)

On a personal level: Hmm, guilty until proven innocent or innocent until proven guilty? Demanding 'proof of innocence' frequently in a relationship is incredibly corrosive, not to mention time-consuming and emotionally draining. In fact, I would argue that without trust there is no real relationship. So, proof of what and by whom? And what constitutes a proof (as Alex notes)--news reports, gossip?

In mathematics: How often does a mathematician confirm the truth of theorems he uses? Don't most wait for apparent inconsistencies or other inadequacies to appear before closely examining a mathematical edifice skeptically? And even then, don't most mathematicians trust the 'authorities' in the field to resolve the problem?

In some sense, a belief that a good, pragmatic approximation to 'the truth' will out is implicit in people's approaches to most endeavors. So, in the spirit of Euler, Fourier, Riemann, Heaviside, and Ramanujan (some of the most productive personalities in mathematics), don't be a puss, have the courage to forge ahead (albeit not blindly) until your belief is no longer tenable.

Don't be a puss! (A rejoinder to Skeptic Cat)

On a personal level: Hmm, guilty until proven innocent or innocent until proven guilty? Demanding 'proof of innocence' frequently in a relationship is incredibly corrosive, not to mention time-consuming and emotionally draining. In fact, I would argue that without trust there is no real relationship. So, proof of what and by whom? And what constitutes a proof (as Alex notes)--news reports, gossip?

In mathematics: How often does a mathematician confirm the truth of theorems he uses? Don't most wait for apparent inconsistencies or other inadequacies to appear before closely examining a mathematical edifice skeptically? And even then, don't most mathematicians trust the 'authorities' in the field to resolve the problem?

In some sense, a belief that a good, pragmatic approximation to 'the truth' will out is implicit in people's approaches to most endeavors. (E.g., see Michael Atiyah's comments on Proof in Advice to a Young Mathematician.) So, in the spirit of Euler, Fourier, Riemann, Heaviside, and Ramanujan (some of the most productive personalities in mathematics), don't be a puss, have the courage to forge ahead (albeit not blindly) until your belief is no longer tenable.

Source Link
Tom Copeland
  • 10.5k
  • 3
  • 57
  • 84

Don't be a puss! (A rejoinder to Skeptic Cat)

On a personal level: Hmm, guilty until proven innocent or innocent until proven guilty? Demanding 'proof of innocence' frequently in a relationship is incredibly corrosive, not to mention time-consuming and emotionally draining. In fact, I would argue that without trust there is no real relationship. So, proof of what and by whom? And what constitutes a proof (as Alex notes)--news reports, gossip?

In mathematics: How often does a mathematician confirm the truth of theorems he uses? Don't most wait for apparent inconsistencies or other inadequacies to appear before closely examining a mathematical edifice skeptically? And even then, don't most mathematicians trust the 'authorities' in the field to resolve the problem?

In some sense, a belief that a good, pragmatic approximation to 'the truth' will out is implicit in people's approaches to most endeavors. So, in the spirit of Euler, Fourier, Riemann, Heaviside, and Ramanujan (some of the most productive personalities in mathematics), don't be a puss, have the courage to forge ahead (albeit not blindly) until your belief is no longer tenable.

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