Differences between Chinese and Western education systems

[nihilistic]

Great, now math is not a science; it's a way of thinking. Fantastic. Chomsky told you this?

I actually haven't read any of Chomsky's works on linguistics, though I have read stuff that is certainly derived from it. But, in either case, that is irrelevant. Just look up the definitions of basic concepts such as the Scientific Method and you will see how all that inductive inference does not apply to math.

Also, since we like xkcd so much:

 

[Ecofarm]

And guess what is left of engineering.... chemistry then physics then math... because the context of math is clearly defined.

 

[Bill3000]

But I'm not buying into math = philosophy.

Fifty is a philo major, right? Ask him if there are any mathematicians in his department.

Fifty teaches a symbolic logic course, and loves the philosophy of mathematics. The philosophy of logic and the construction of mathematics are intimately intertwined.

But the quintessential example of a "mathematician in the philosophy department" (or vice-versa, really) would be [wiki]Bertrand Russell.[/wiki]

Mathematics isn't a science because it neither is based on empirical reality nor uses the scientific method. That does not mean that it isn't a study of knowledge, of course; it's just a highly abstract one.

 

[Ecofarm]

It's a hard science. lalalala I can't hear you.

 

[Sharwood]

I actually haven't read any of Chomsky's works on linguistics, though I have read stuff that is certainly derived from it. But, in either case, that is irrelevant. Just look up the definitions of basic concepts such as the Scientific Method and you will see how all that inductive inference does not apply to math.

Also, since we like xkcd so much:

Although, having studied sociology, you can stretch that bastard even further than literary criticism. It's theories about theories about theories, with very little actual verifiable facts behind them.

 

[Bill3000]

It's a hard science. lalalala I can't hear you.

Hard sciences rely on experimental, empirical, quantifiable data or the scientific method. Mathematics uses neither.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I'm with maths is philosophy although there is good argument that it is also an art.

Applied maths is science but it is boring

 

[Bill3000]

I'm with maths is philosophy although there is good argument that it is also an art.

Applied maths is science but it is boring

Applied math is not necessarily science - economics is not a science, for example.

 

[Ecofarm]

Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

wiki

You people are just messing with me now, right?

Regarding Mathematicians and the scientific method:

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere.[2][3] Mathematicians formulate new conjectures and establish their truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.

wiki

 

[Bill3000]

wiki

You people are just messing with me now, right?

social science != science; economics in its current state does not use the scientific method; it's nothing more than applied real analysis; poor real analysis, at that.

Regarding Mathematicians and the scientific method:

The scientific method is not about deduction; it is primarily induction. Science uses math; it is not math.

 

[Ecofarm]

social science != science

True, but it is one. Otherwise, we'd call it social studies.

Why don't you head over to the sociology, anthropology and economics departments and explain to them that they are not scientists, that'll be a hoot.

 

[Bill3000]

True, but it is one. Otherwise, we'd call it social studies.

Why don't you head over to the sociology, anthropology and economics departments and explain to them that they are not scientists, that'll be a hoot.

There are parts of sociology that uses the scientific method, as well as (non-cultural) anthropology. The same can't be said of economics.

 

[Ecofarm]

Of course economics uses the scientific method.

 

[LightFang]

Ecofarm, are you just being obtuse on purpose? Because I think you are succeeding.

 

[Crezth]

Of course economics uses the scientific method.

Please don't insult the scientific community with such hogwash. Economics is largely and by general consensus considered to be guesswork, which is the antithesis of the scientific method.

 

[Shadowbound]

I refuse to read through six pages to see if this point has already been made.

I've found, based on some conversations with an Asian immigrant friend and my own brief stay in Korea, that there is more emphasis on memorization and tests in Asia and less on critical thinking.

 

[Masada]

Why don't you head over to the sociology, anthropology and economics departments and explain to them that they are not scientists, that'll be a hoot.

Social scientists. I have never as an economist compared myself to a physicist or mathematician.

 

[Ecofarm]

So you ARE a scientist?! But you do not practice science... hmm...

Are you a liar or do you not know what science means? Are you familiar with the scientific method??

 

[Masada]

Ceteris paribus.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

But Ecofarm, you claimed mathematics is based on the scientific method. Do you know what mathematics is?