Physical reality fails to match common sense, while mathematical reality does not
Evidence
A chair may be a collection of whirling electrons, or an idea in the mind of God: each of these accounts of it may have its merits, but neither conforms at all closely to the suggestions of common sense. … A mathematician, on the other hand, is working with his own mathematical reality. — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 262
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 262
- XREF: connects to: Applied mathematicians must discard their finest ideas for failing to match reality — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 270; Human knowledge fails to answer life’s fundamental questions. — Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 64; Permanent creations like geometrical theorems exceed ordinary human powers — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 153 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Cartesian metaphors valid for small facts fail on big contested ones
#complicates(0.70) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 359 - Applied mathematicians must discard their finest ideas for failing to match reality
#contradicts(0.60) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 270 - Communication does not report reality but inverts the reported relation to it
#expands(0.60) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 187 - Human knowledge fails to answer life’s fundamental questions.
#expands(0.45) — Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 64