• Banno
    25.3k
    Here's a game about the philosophy of mathematics.

    Players take turns to add rules.

    Your turn.
  • jgill
    3.9k
    The sum of any two integers is zero.
  • creativesoul
    12k
    So much for that.
  • Pfhorrest
    4.6k
    The product of any two integers is omega. (Where omega is the first number bigger than any integers).
  • I like sushi
    4.9k
    No two rules can be combined and none can be used more than once.
  • Harry Hindu
    5.1k
    Banno subtracts 50% of his dough and adds it to my dough. It's a rule. Give up your dough, Banno.
  • frank
    16k
    Here's a game about the philosophy of mathematics.Banno

    Math rules are discovered, not made.
  • Sir2u
    3.5k
    Zero is the total product of one's life.
    You start with it and anything added is left behind at the end.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    Math rules are discovered, not made.frank

    If it is going to be discovered, then it is covered...

    And hence, it is.

    Where are mathematical expressions before they are discovered?

    The simple answer - they are not discovered.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    Then integers takes on a use that is peculiar to this game.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    So much for that.creativesoul

    That shows a lack of imagination.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    This is inconsistent with
    The sum of any two integers is zero.John Gill

    So, do you choose inconsistency, or reject John Gill's formulation?
  • Banno
    25.3k
    I don't bake.
  • Pfhorrest
    4.6k
    I didn’t realize I was creating an inconsistency, so I leave it up to another poster (first comer) to decide to reject either my axiom or John’s.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    That's a good move.

    There may be a way around the inconsistency.

    So we have, from @John Gill,

    For any two integers a,b, a+b=0

    And we have from you,

    For any two integers a,b, ab = Ω

    (The italics indicate the special in-game nature of the word 'integer').

    Now ab is just a+a+a..., b times. But substituting a for b in John's rule, a+a=0

    Hence, skipping a bit, 0=Ω.

    And hence, a+b = Ω

    We might treat this as a definition of integer, such that an integer is any number that, added to another integer, yields Ω.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    The thread had been moved into the lounge. I've moved this back into Philosophy of Mathematics.

    It's credentials as such should be evident in the content.

    Also, extending the game is dependent on creativity - and hence on a large number of folk participating.

    The contention here is that this game has similarities to mathematics, in that the playful creation of rules is at the core of both.

    Since it is clear that this game is constructed, not discovered, the game is a rejection by example of the doctrine set out here:
    Math rules are discovered, not made.frank
  • frank
    16k
    it is going to be discovered, then it is covered...

    And hence, it is.

    Where are mathematical expressions before they are discovered?

    The simple answer - they are not discovered.
    Banno

    My rule is that they are discovered. Don't toss away my rule because of some made-up logic.
  • ssu
    8.7k
    Here's a game about the philosophy of mathematics.

    Players take turns to add rules.

    Your turn.
    Banno


    I add that there exists Absolute Infinity.

    Is then Ω absolute infinity or not?

    (I like Banno's game :up: )
  • Banno
    25.3k
    Don't toss away my rule because of some made-up logic.frank

    I'm tossing it away because it is silly.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    well,

    Where omega is the first number bigger than any integersPfhorrest

    hence we might presume a number bigger than the first number bigger than any integer.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    But can there be an integer bigger than another integer?

    What does bigger look like here?
  • Harry Hindu
    5.1k
    Well, what do you do so you can give half of the fruits of your labor to me?

    Math games with arbitrary rules are a useful waste of time. If you really want rules, reality has some for you. For math or language to really be of any use, they need to inform and predict the world as it was, is and will be.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    We choose when and where to apply the rules.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    Let's call them Gill integers.

    A GIll Integer differs from other integers in that when summed, they add to zero.

    Now, is there more than one Gill Integer?
  • Banno
    25.3k


    Let's call them Fhorrest Integers.

    Are they the same as Gill integers?
  • Harry Hindu
    5.1k
    "Rules" is probably the wrong term to use. Any mathematics without real-world applications would be the game you're looking for. Knowing how many miles to the next rest stop and how fast you are going isn't a game when you really need to empty your bladder. It produces true knowledge about you and the world. Is your game useful for anything outside of this thread?
  • frank
    16k
    I'm tossing it away because it is silly.Banno

    No. You're tossing it away for no reason.
  • jgill
    3.9k
    The Axiom of No Choice: For any collection of non-empty sets there is at least one way to avoid choosing an element from each set.

    (This will lead to a pathological nightmare in the case of an uncountable infinity of such sets)

    The Axiom of Inclusion: Given two empty sets, one is the absence of an element of the other.

    :nerd:
  • creativesoul
    12k
    That shows a lack of imagination.Banno

    Me???

    :lol:

    Surely you jest. Maths are beyond my understanding. I don't want to be a bullshitter!

    :wink:

    I'll watch. Have fun.
  • Banno
    25.3k
    again, what does this lead to? Is it fun to play?

    Some rules lead to a more interesting game.

    The preference for consistency is one such rule.
  • Marchesk
    4.6k
    Let's say the rules of arithmetic are arbitrarily made up, like Banno's math game. The golden ratio is one result of arithmetic. The surprising thing is that it can be find in spiral patterns in nature. Now why might that be? Perhaps the rules or arithmetic are not so arbitrary.

    Let's go back to their origins. How did humans come up with arithmetic? Probably when it became useful to track transactions and taxation. And that's not arbitrary.
bold
italic
underline
strike
code
quote
ulist
image
url
mention
reveal
youtube
tweet
Add a Comment

Welcome to The Philosophy Forum!

Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.