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Some Comments on “The Mathematical Universe”

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Abstract

I discuss some problems related to extreme mathematical realism, focusing on a recently proposed “shut-up-and-calculate” approach to physics (Tegmark in Found. Phys. 38:101, 2008; New Sci., September 15th, 2007). I offer arguments for a moderate alternative, the essence of which lies in the acceptance that mathematics is (at least in part) a human construction, and discuss concrete consequences of this—at first sight purely philosophical—difference in point of view.

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Correspondence to Gil Jannes.

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Jannes, G. Some Comments on “The Mathematical Universe”. Found Phys 39, 397–406 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-009-9286-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-009-9286-9

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