Comments on: Mathematics and poetry http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/ always busy counting, doubting every figured guess . . . Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:15:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Peter Cameron http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/#comment-1232 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:17:30 +0000 http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/?p=596#comment-1232 Just men??

Maybe angels too…

]]> By: Patrica Girven http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/#comment-1229 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:21:56 +0000 http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/?p=596#comment-1229 The majority of men meet with failure mainly because of their absence of persistence in building innovative plans to take the place of those which fail

]]> By: Peter Cameron http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/#comment-1068 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:45:39 +0000 http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/?p=596#comment-1068 Perhaps these comments got a bit hijacked by the discussion of ambiguity. There are other issues too.

I am currently reading Sasha Borovik’s book Mathematics under the Microscope, and came upon this: “. . . we should not be disappointed that everyday language does not work any longer at the apex of our little theory. It is natural; like poetry, the very reason for the existence of mathematics is that it expresses thoughts and feelings which we cannot express in mundane everyday language. “

]]> By: Ambiguity « Peter Cameron's Blog http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/#comment-824 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:25:25 +0000 http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/?p=596#comment-824 [...] By Peter Cameron JoAnne Growney has gently taken me to task for saying that there is no ambiguity in mathematics. So here I will play devil’s advocate, and examine [...]

]]> By: Peter Cameron http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/#comment-772 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:54:45 +0000 http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/?p=596#comment-772 I admit I said that to be provocative. But I think both opinions have some truth in them. A piece of mathematics must have a single meaning which is clear. If it has more, that is a bonus!

Thanks for your link.

]]> By: JoAnne http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/mathematics-and-poetry/#comment-764 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:19:31 +0000 http://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/?p=596#comment-764 Thanks for the tribute to Martin Gardner on an earlier day — and for this thought-provoking entry as well. I agree to the reversal of the Lewis Carroll maxim but I disagree with a bit with your opening use of the term “ambiguity”–for I think that good poetry and good mathematics BOTH are rich from from the multiple meanings that cling to each symbol. I have tended to think of this not as ambiguity but as clustering or “chunking” of much meaning around few symbols.
When time allows you can find some of my thoughts concerning math-poetry connections at http://poetrywithmathematics.blogspot.com.

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