What is the Universe expanding into..

Do you think there was anything before the big bang?

  • I don't think there was anything before the Big Bang

    Votes: 56 12.5%
  • I think something existed before the Big Bang

    Votes: 200 44.7%
  • I don't think the big bang happened

    Votes: 54 12.1%
  • I think the universe is part of a mutiverse

    Votes: 201 45.0%

  • Total voters
    447
Status
Not open for further replies.
Heegner number 163.
I am sufficiently content in knowing that there are only nine Heegner numbers (1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 19, 43, 67 and 163) and that Kurt Heegner proved that a tenth one did not exist. Heegner number - Wikipedia

No doubt my attachment will bring complete contentment to the mathematicians in the audience! 😉
 

Attachments

  • 163.png
    163.png
    10.8 KB · Views: 123
Last edited:
Heegner numbers are extremely interesting things.

Things went seriously nuts while I was trying to take a severiously diffiicult picture of the Christmas Star.

904421d1608832925-universe-expanding-conjunction-christmas-eve-jpg


Some old boy approached me, with less than 2m Social Distancing, which made me nervous, and told me he that "The Aliens" have been living on the Moon since 1947.

"Yeah, right" I said. Along with Bill Gates, UFO's, Vaccines an' all that.

We parted on good terms. But really, some people have no idea what is going on. 😀
 
P.S. I did manage to see the 'Christmas Star' on Christmas Eve.

It barely cleared the rooftops of some distant houses, but shone bright against the red sunset.

That naked eye observation will do for me. The snow set in last night and I'm staying indoors where it's cozy and warm! :frosty:
 
A purely syntactic logic is one thing, and a logic with important or relevant semantic content is another.

A parallel to syntactic (or formal) logic is found in metamathematics Metamathematics - Wikipedia and mathematical formalism Formalism (philosophy of mathematics - Wikipedia) is a favourite topic of mathematical physicist Roger Penrose Roger Penrose - Wikipedia who has said:

“The point of view that one can dispense with the meanings of mathematical statements, regarding them as nothing but strings of symbols in some mathematical system, is the mathematical standpoint of formalism.”
 
Kurt Goedel is the one who pushed logic so far, he came to a devastating conclusion about consistency of mathematics.
KG was pretty weird as a man.
Thanks to Albert Einstein he immigrated successfully to the US. Kurt had explained to Albert that the US constitution was, flawed or something like that. And Kurt was on the way to explain it to the immigration officer, fortunately Albert was here to deviate the interview from this embarrassing stuff.
This anecdote is well documented and is fun reading.
The Mathematician Who Showed How the US Could Be Made A Dictatorship
 
Last edited:
I always have slight problem with Kurt Godel. Since some mathematical propositions are neither provable NOR disprovable, Maybe Kurt Godel's Proof itself might fall in to the same category?

These are the swamp-lands of Mathematics and Physics. A place I prefer to avoid. 🙄

Logical inconsistencies worry me a lot. And I hate heights. Prefer solid old Gauss:

642767d1509252253-suppose-shallow-vs-steep-argument-gaussian-transform-png


Back in the old days, it was about the GOOD GUYS versus the BAD GUYS:

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance "Steak" Scene - YouTube

James Stewart plays the THIRD FORCE here. Well, he got the girl. Respect. 😀
 
Galu, is this really where you live?

905356d1609112410-universe-expanding-ben-jpg


What a lovely place! 😀

Even your Prime Minister is more sensible than our Boris:

Boris is a ****!

Jokes abound about crossing the Scottish border:

A math joke from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon:

"There are three men on a train. One of them is an economist and one of them is a logician and one of them is a mathematician.

And they have just crossed the border into Scotland (I don't know why they are going to Scotland) and they see a brown cow standing in a field from the window of the train (and the cow is standing parallel to the train).

And the economist says, 'Look, the cows in Scotland are brown.'

And the logician says, 'No. There are cows in Scotland of which at least one is brown.'

And the mathematician says, 'No. There is at least one cow in Scotland, of which one side appears to be brown.'

Very cautious people, mathematicians... 😱
 
Galu, is this really where you live?
No, I don't live among the majestic mountains! However, the extensive area of hill country nearby rises high enough to accommodate a ski centre.

Unfortunately, the plentiful snow that we are presently enjoying is not being fully utilised due to the pandemic. 🙁
 

Attachments

  • Hill.jpg
    Hill.jpg
    253.8 KB · Views: 87
  • Hills.jpg
    Hills.jpg
    184.9 KB · Views: 96
Status
Not open for further replies.