Is she right, /sci/? Are mathematical proofs a social construct?
http://mathbabe.org/2012/11/14/the-abc-conjecture-has-not-been-proved/
>>7986756
Not in the sense that you mean
>>7986756
>social construct
take your postmodernism back to facebook.
>>7986756
Social relativism would imply that the truth of a proof depends on the society it's explained to.
While this is trivially true in a sense that some society could reject ZF set theory for some reason and cripple our ability to do any math at all, it's otherwise not true.
A proof is still valid, even if you don't understand it yet.
You can't leap from "he has a proof, but nobody else has agreed yet so it's not a proof at all". All you can say is "he has a proof, which may or may not be valid because nobody else knows yet."
>>7986756
why is "social construct" such a hot buzzphrase?
>>7986756
>http://mathbabe.org/2016/04/07/ill-stop-calling-algorithms-racist-when-you-stop-anthropomorphizing-ai/
this fucking woman
>>7986779
it makes you sound like you know what you are talking about without actually having to research the field.
intellectual laziness fampai.
>>7986779
Postmodernism. The little kids on twitter/facebook/reddit are too young to remember this shit being debunked in the 90s. Read a book or two on it
http://www.amazon.com/Fashionable-Nonsense-Postmodern-Intellectuals-Abuse-Science/dp/0312204078
http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Superstition-Academic-Quarrels-Science/dp/0801857074/
>>7986756
Isn't there some way to mechanically verify Mochiyummy's proof?
>>7986810
Hmm yes.. If ony we had some way to percieve his proof through some sensory organ. Hmm yes...
>>7986830
Is this sarcasm?
The proof is all but useless until we understand it. The methods he's developed are of more interest than the truth of the conjecture.
>>7986869
Is this autism?
>>7986756
All of math is a circular self-referential construct, that doesnt make it wrong or meaningless
>>7986756
Probably angry that a white male solved it.
>>7987039
>japanese
>white
>>7986756
We have too many critics and not enough creative people
>>7986801
ah. so it's basically been rebranded for a new generation
neat, i always knew something was up
>>7986779
because many people believe that "x is a social construct" means something like "x doesn't actually exist"
careful friends, this thread is dangerously close to triggering a /pol/ invasion
>>7987051
>Implying a Japanese male in Japan isn't privileged.
>Implying women aren't subjugated more in Japan than in any western country
>Implying a Japanese male in Japan isn't, socially speaking, equivalent to a white male in a western country.
It's like you're trying to be ignorant, don't be a retard all your life anon.
>spouse: Johan de Jong
Oof.
this tbqh >>7987391
this is obviously just 1 random blogger, if you are on 4chan you should be aware that anyone can spread their nonsense all over the internet by now
>>7986756
>Come up with proof
>Only I understand it, therefore proof isn't valid
>Give a few seminars and workshops on proof
>Everyone understands it
>Proof magically becomes correct
I never knew that society was so powerful that it could affect the ontological value of something, live and learn I guess.
>>7987463
>that lack of reading comprehension
>>7986784
at least she's fighting the botnet
>>7986784
She has a point desu.
>>7987505
>That lack of argument.
Obviously I shitpost, but only a bit. I can get what she means but I, and I'm guessing most others, consider the verification to be separate from the correctness of the proof. A proof is always correct, it is always valid, the verification of it by other mathematicians only lends it weight and gives it force.
>>7986784
If you actually read the artcle you would realize that she makes a good point
>>7987463
>Come up with proof
>Only I understand it
>Everyone accepts it as valid
>Give workshops and seminars on proof
>Eventually people understand it
>Someone finds an error, proof isn't valid
asking proofs to be understandable to more than one person isn't a statement about the underlying truth value of the proof, but a protective mechanism for the field against accepting faulty work
Mochizuki is a fraud
>>7986784
http://jte.sagepub.com/content/61/3/261.short
Fuck this world.
>>7986756
Technically the entire field of Mathematics is a social construct. It's a social construct used to understand our environment, its shape, and space.
But just because it's a social construct doesn't mean it's wrong, contrary to what Feminists and SJWs would have you believe.
>>7987388
>because many people believe that "x is a social construct" means something like "x doesn't actually exist"
THIS
Remember, the flowing are "social constructs" but still exist:
>car insurance
>money (and everything relating to it)
>law
>marriage
>national borders
>>7989338
>But just because it's a social construct doesn't mean it's wrong
Yeah. Yet somehow everyone on /sci/ hears the phrase "social construct" and sticks their fingers in their ears while calling the author an idiot without even understanding her point.